Island
by xSweetEternityx
Summary: [AxC mainly] When we all boarded the Archangel Voyager, we expected it to be a holiday where we could relax, but after the Archangel sank, everything just turned the exact opposite of the way the things were supposed to be. –Cagalli
1. Archangel

**A/N: Hey everyone! This is my third fanfic, but it's going to be quite long. Truthfully, I took this story from an author named Gordon Korman, but I'll be making it very different and in GS/GSD style with its characters! Main characters are Cagalli and Athrun, but there will be other parings that include KxL, DxM and YxS. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't really own this plot, just changing it and I don't own the characters from GS/GSD **

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**The Island**

**Summary: _When we all boarded the Archangel Voyager, we expected it to be a holiday where we could relax, but after the Archangel sank, everything just turned the exact opposite of the way the things were supposed to be. –Cagalli_**

**Chapter 1: The Archangel**

It was the beginning of summer as I made my way down to the docks. We had finally finished our provincial exams and to take a long break, my father sent me and my best friend Mirillia Hawwe on a boat trip. It was a trip designed for teenagers like me that was going to take us around for some sightseeing in the tropical seas. I was lost in thought until someone called my name. "Hey Cagalli! I found the Archangel!" came a male voice.

I looked up and went with Mirillia over to a brunette boy. His name was Tolle Koenig and he was also good friends with both me and Mir. "See? I said I would find it first, didn't I?" he said.

I rolled my eyes. Tolle was known to be overconfident in everything he does. "Whatever, let's just get on board," I said as I took out my ticket and showed it to a man who was at the entrance.

He had dark wavy hair and very tan skin. He looked like the captain of the Archangel. He smiled at me and took my ticket. "And what is your name, miss?" he asked.

"Cagalli," I answered and then looked back. "And those two are my friends Mirillia Hawwe and Tolle Koenig," I added as they both came up slowly.

Mir was laughing at something Tolle said who was also laughing with a light blush on his face. Sometimes I envied Mirillia. She was quite popular and her just-above shoulder length auburn hair framed her face quite nicely. Her baby blue eyes showed her innocence. Many boys liked her, but she refused them all. The only one she liked was Tolle, though you can clearly see why. Tolle was quite handsome and his neat wavy brown hair is always in place. He was a deep manly voice and had eyes that twinkled when he spoke to Mir. I wanted a boyfriend, but I seriously doubt anyone would want a tomboyish me. Suddenly, a voice snapped me out of my thoughts. "Ah, I am your captain. Kisaka's my name, but you can just call me 'Cap' for short," he said.

I nodded as Mir and Tolle gave him their tickets as well. "You'll find your rooms upstairs. Girls to the left and boys to the right," said Cap.

"Okay, c'mon Mir! Let's go unpack our stuff," I said as I took her hand eagerly.

She smiled. "Okay!" she replied and ran up the stairs with me, leaving Tolle at the entrance of the Archangel.

We saw a hallway at the top of the stairs that lead into two directions. We turned left and saw three rooms. In the room that was closest to the stairs, there was a wooden bunk bed with a bathroom on the other side. There was also 2 closets and a night table. Near the beds was a wooden desk and a chair. The other rooms had the same things but the only difference was that there were single beds instead of the bunk beds. "Let's take the one with the bunk bed," I suggested.

Mir nodded with agreement. "Which bed do you want? The lower or the upper?" I asked.

Mirillia shrugged. "Doesn't matter. You can have the bottom one closest to the window," she said as she brought her stuff inside.

"Okay then. We'll unpack and then we'll explore the place," I said as I opened my suitcase.

The empty oak closets soon became un-empty. Then we went out of our rooms to explore. "Let's go find the dining room," I suggested.

Mirillia smiled. "Alright. Then we can head out onto the deck," she said.

We went down the stairs and saw some more stairs leading downwards. "Let's try those," I suggested and Mir nodded.

We headed down , escaping the heat wave. Mirillia sighed. "It's cool down here, but this isn't the dining room," she said.

I looked around. She was right. It seemed more like a lounge or a common place since there was several sofas, a fireplace and an oak table. But there seemed to have another door beside the fireplace. "Let's open that door," Mirillia said as she followed my gaze.

I nodded. "Okay," I said as I crossed the room.

We opened the door to reveal the dining room, only it wasn't empty. Tolle and another boy greeted us. "Hey, you two!" Tolle called out.

"Hey Tolle, we wondered where you went," I said.

Tolle frowned at me. "Hey, you left me there!" he said but then smiled as Mirillia gave him an apologetic look. "By the way, this guy is Heine," he added.

I looked to the boy called Heine. He had blonde hair like me but had green eyes. "Hi, I'm Cagalli and she's Mirillia," I introduced.

Mirillia exchanged a polite hello. "I'm Cap's assistant so if you ever need me, just give a holler," said Heine as he leaned back on the wooden chair.

Tolle grinned. "And he's also my cabin mate, so what are you girls up to?" he asked.

Mirillia shrugged. "We're planning on going up to the deck. What about you?" she asked.

Tolle smiled that lop-sided grin of his. "We're going to join you and then greet the other people that signed up for the voyage," he said.

I turned to Heine. "Exactly how many people sighed up?" I asked.

"Hmm... about nine people in total counting you, Mirillia and Tolle here," Heine answered as he got up.

"Well, let's get to the deck, shall we?" he suggested.

It turns out that the deck was just at the end of our rooms' hallway. I opened the door and gasped as the sunlight blinded me. I blinked quickly as I looked out. "Awesome!" Mirillia exclaimed delightedly.

I agreed. It was a clear blue sky with a sparkling rich blue ocean that seemed to be endless. "Beautiful, isn't she," said Heine.

"You bet!" I exclaimed, for it was a rare sight you don't see everyday.

Sea birds flew above us and the smell of the ocean could cheer anyone up. But it was interrupted as I saw a flash of pink hair. "Athrun! Come on out onto the deck," said a female voice.

I turned to see four boys and two girls beside us. "It's magical," commented a boy with shoulder-length dark hair.

Heine smiled at the newcomers. "Hi there, I'm Heine, the Captain's assistant. I take it you're the remaining members of our party?" he asked a brunette boy with lavender eyes.

The boy nodded. "Yes, we just got here," he said.

Heine nodded. "Well, let's get out of the blazing sun and into the lounge," he suggested.

I wanted to stay here for a while longer so I told them I would meet up with them later. I held onto the railing as I pressed my face up to the gentle breeze. I was enjoying myself so much that I didn't realize someone was watching me with interest. "You like the ocean too?" asked a rich masculine voice.

I turned to face the boy with dark hair. "Yeah, my family used to live near the ocean when I was younger," I replied.

The boy smiled. He had a really nice smile. His emerald eyes sparkled as he did so. "Isn't that right? I sued to spend every moment I had down at the shore before going to school. By the way, I'm Athrun," he said as he came over to my side.

"I'm Cagalli, what school do you attend to?" I asked in curiosity.

"Genesis Academy along with the other three guys. Lacus and Shiho, the two girls go to a finishing school near ours," said Athrun. "What about you?"

I blushed slightly. Genesis Academy was a first-rate private school for boys. He was probably really wealthy. "I go to Destiny High with Mirillia and Tolle. Tolle's the brunette that was beside Heine," I replied.

It didn't seem to bother him that he was talking to a student from a third-rate school the way some snobby kids did. "So Mirillia is the girl beside you?" Athrun asked.

I nodded. "Yeah, she's like a sister to me. We've been friends ever since nursery school," I said.

Athrun smiled. "Yeah, my best friend, Kira, he's the brunette with lavender eyes, has been friends with me for a long time too. I didn't meet Dearka or Yzak until elementary school," he said. "Dearka's the tanned blonde while Yzak's the platinum head," he added.

"So Yzak's the one with the sour face?" I asked slowly, remembering he looked a bit green.

Athrun laughed. "Yeah, that's Yzak. He hates the sea, but with a miracle, Dearka managed to convince him to come," he said.

I smiled. "Then how is it possible for Dearka to be so tan?! I've never met someone before like him," I said in wonder.

Athrun chuckled again. "Dearka spends a lot of his time traveling around with his father," he replied.

So far I knew a bit about his friends, but not a lot about him. "So what about you? Do you travel a lot with _your_ father?" I questionned.

Athrun's smile slid off his face. "I wish, but my father's always busy with the council and stuff like that, so we never really have time to travel," he said shortly.

I looked at him in surprise. "Your father... he wouldn't be Chairman Patrick Zala, would he?" I asked.

Athrun nodded but said nothing. Since he didn't seem like he wanted to talk about it any further, I changed the subject. "Let's go in and meet up with the others," I said as I turned for the door.

"Okay," said Athrun and we both went down to the lounge.

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**A/N: Now what did you think for the first chapter? Was it too boring, if so, I'll try to make it more interesting in the second chapter. It'll be kinda boring to start off with, but I promise soon it'll be better. Please give me your thoughts and flames are allowed. Thanks!  
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	2. Clue

**A/N: Hey everyone! Thanks to my old reviewers from my first fic: Distant Memories! I'm really glad to see you guys again! In this chapter, Athrun may seem a _little _obnoxious (that is what my friend thought) but he usually isn't and is that way because of Cagalli. Anyway, hope y'all enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own GS/GSD, if I did, the world would collasp! XD  
**

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**Chapter 2: Clue**

Everyone looked up as we came in. "You guys sure took a while," Heine commented.

"We were just getting to know each other," I replied as I took a seat next to Mirillia and the two other girls.

Cap nodded. "That is fine. We will be leaving shortly, so I advise you to make sure you have everything you need for the two weeks," he said as he got up.

Heine got up as well. "I'll excuse myself since I need to see that the food will be prepared soon. Just come to the dining room in two hours," he said. "In the meantime, you may do whatever you want," he added before leaving.

I looked around. No one got up. "Let's just stay here," said Tolle and everyone agreed.

"Let's introduce ourselves, since I don't want to keep saying 'hey you!'" said a girl with short brown hair.

We all exchanged names and in total we had: Kira, Yzak, Dearka, Mirillia, Tolle, Lacus, Shiho, Athrun and me. If I counted the captain, Heine and the cook, there was a total of 12 people on board. "Let's play Clue to pass the time," Shiho suddenly suggested as she took out the game board from the shelf.

Everyone nodded. "Alright, but since there are nine of us, 3 will need to sit out. I don't mind sitting out," said Mirillia.

Tolle shrugged. "Two guys will need to sit out, so I'll sit. Besides, I don't feel like playing either," he said, but I knew the reason he didn't want to play was so that Mirillia wouldn't feel left out.

Yzak leaned back. "I don't feel like playing," he said.

We all chose our players and I got Miss Scarlet. I turned to face Lacus. "Don't you want to be red?" I asked.

Lacus shrugged but smiled. "It doesn't matter, I'm happy being Mrs. White," she said so that left Shiho with Mrs. Peacock.

Dearka was Colonel Mustand with Kira being Prof. Plum and Athrun was Mr. Green. I grinned, but Athrun caught me. "What are you grinning about, Cagalli?" he asked with a hint of amusement in his voice.

"Nothing," I replied, but there was actually something.

Each of the guys chose someone that ressembled them in some way by their appearance. Dearka was blond, Kira had violet eyes and Athrun had emerald eyes. "Let's start," I said.

Tolle stood up. "Hold on, we still have to choose a murderer. I suggest everyone who's playing should close their eyes while we tap one person. If you feel a tap, you may open your eyes and we'll show you your weapon and the place and we'll take the evidence away from the deck of suspects. Then you'll only have three cards each. But don't tell anyone if you're the murderer or not, because that'll wreck the fun," he said.

"I agree," everyone chorused.

"Close your eyes and no peaking!" said Tolle as he took out 3 cards from the deck.

I closed my eyes and waited, but there was no tap. Finally a minute passed and we were allowed to open our eyes. We were all given three cards. The ones that I got were Prof. Plum, the Dining room and the library. That meant the murderer wasn't Prof. Plum (A.K.A. Kira). And that the murder didn't take place in the dining room or the library. "Wait a minute! Are we using a dice for this or are we using 'no roll'?" Shiho asked.

"What does 'no roll' mean? Lacus asked.

"No roll means taht you don't use a dice. In a real game, if I used the dice and rolled a three, I would have to move 3 spaces, no more, no less. In a 'no roll' game, we all get 9 spaces. We can either use all 9 spaces to move or you can go less than 9," Athrun explained.

"Let's use no roll because that would be easier," I said and the majority of us agreed.

After a long time of playing, I finally checked off each person that had the suspect, the room and the weapon. When my turn came, I pointed at Athrun. "I accuse you, Mr Green for using the wrench to kill Mr. Body in the ballroom," I declared.

Athrun grinned. "You're right, I am the murderer. Not bad, you're really good at this and in less than 10 turns too," he said.

I smiled and suddenly the door to the dining room opened. Heine came out. "Lunch is served," he said in the door way.

We all cleaned up the game board and then went for lunch. Later while Mirillia, Lacus and some of the guys went to play in the pool that was on the upper deck, I laid on a lawn chair and read a murder-mystery novel I brought along. I much preferred to be sitting in the shade than in the heat. "Whatcha doing?" said a familar voice.

I looked up to see emerald eyes looking down. Quickly, I adverted my gaze back down to my novel. "Just reading," I said.

Athrun smiled and took the seat next to me. "Why aren't you in the pool?" he asked.

I lowered my book and looked at him through my narrowed eyes. "Why aren't _you_? If you must know, I prefer the shade to the heat," I said shortly. Then I looked at his choice of clothing. "You aren't dressed for the weather," I added.

Athrun wore black pants, a black jacket and a green t-shirt. He gave me an amused look. "I happen to like my jacket," he said. "Don't you?"

I went back to my book to avoid blushing. As much as I hate to admit it, he was very good-looking in his black jacket, though I would never say it outloud. "Don't you get hot in that?" I asked, ignoring his question.

Athrun grinned. "I'm hot, am I?" he said with that stupid but charming smile of his.

However, I had enough. I got up and closed my novel and turned to the direction of the rooms. Athrun too stood up in surprise and shocl. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to tease you," he said.

I turned my head. "Doesn't matter, I'm going to read in my air-conditionned room," I said as I left him on the deck.

Before I left, I heard Lacus call out to Athrun. "Hey Athrun! Come join us!"

I walked faster and sighed as I went upstairs where I met up with Shiho. "Hey Shiho, what's up?" I said.

Shiho shrugged. "Nothing, I'm bored. Everyone else is in the pool," she said.

I decided to take this opportunity to get to know the brunette better. "Well since you don't want to go in the pool either, you want to chat in my room?" I offered.

Shiho nodded. "Sure," she said and we both went into my room.

I sat on my bed while Shiho sat on Mirillia's. "So those guys, have you known them for a long time?" I asked.

Shiho shrugged. "I've known Athrun for a bit, but those other guys I don't really know them that well. You see, their academy is a block away from ours, so once everywhile Athrun comes to visit. I met him through Lacus," she said.

I smiled. "So Lacus knew him for a long time then?" I asked.

Shiho shrugged again. "I guess. Lacus knew Athrun the longest, since they're childhood friends and their fathers are both council leaders," she said.

I blinked twice. Leaders? "C-clyne? You mean Lacus's father is Siegal Clyne?" I guessed in surprise.

Shiho nodded. "Yeah, he's the one," she said.

What she said made sense to me. No wonder those two got along so well. They were a dream pair. Athrun is as handsome as any god while Lacus looked like an angel and had a face that was as white as the moon. There was no way I could compete with her. Then I mentally slapped myself. Was I falling for Athrun?! NO WAY! I barely even know him! He's NOT that special.. okay he's good-looking.. alright! ALRIGHT! He's damn right freakin' gorgeous! But there's no way in hell he would like me. I would have sat there arguing with myself on whether I liked him or not if Shiho didn't stand up. "Hey Cagalli, let's go check out the waves," she suggested.

I blinked several times before understanding that she wanted to go to the back deck and watch the view. "Oh, sure!" I said as we exited my room.

We watched the waves until Shiho said she was really tired and was going to take a nap before dinner. So we departed since I wanted to watch the view for a bit longer. I heard someone approach. "Hey Cagalli," said a familar voice.

I turned my head. "Oh hi Tolle, what's up?" I asked as he came closer. **(A/N: I bet you were guessing it was Athrun Xp)**

"Oh nothing," he said as he gazed out to sea. "Wow, you can't see Japan anymore," he added.

I nodded but narrowed my eyes in suspicion at his dopey grin. "You're hiding something. I bet this has to do with Mir, doesn't it?" I said.

Tolle looked at me in an amused way. "You've always been good at guessing, haven't you?" he said.

I raised an eyebrow. True, I had been good at guessing games. Tolle blushed as I stared into his eyes and he faced the ocean again. "Well, I erm... uh.."

I shook my had slowly. I sighed. "You like Mirillia right? And you're going to confess?" I said completing his un-completed sentence.

Tolle looked at me in wonder and burst out laughing with a tint of blush covering his face. "Wow, you know me so well," he said as he calmed down. "But is it really that obvious?"

I nodded as I rolled my eyes. "Yes, it is. So you came to me to ask how to confess, right?" I said.

Tolle scratched his chin with his index finger in embarassement. "Yeah.. would you mind helping me?" he asked.

I shook my head. "No, I don't mind. Now, this is what you should do..."

Dinner soon approached and we were served big meals. Only Yzak, who seemed a little green didn't eat much. Dearka looked over at his full plate. "Y'know, Yzak, you usually eat a lot. But if you do something unusual, the boat is going to sink," he said, good-humorly.

Yzak glared angrily. "S-shut up! I'm not hungry!" he said as Dearka backed off.

"Okay okay! I was just teasing... shesh!" Dearka muttered as he finished eating.

Later on in the evening, we had a lot of free time and while we all hung out in the lounge to play cards, I saw Tolle taking Mir outside to talk to her. I smiled, as I hope things would turn out well and that Tolle wouldn't make a mess of things. I also excused myself as I crept silently after them. I saw Tolle and Mirillia on the front deck facing the ocean. I couldn't hear anything clearly except some murmurs and then a happy squeal from Mir. She jumped and hugged Tolle in joy. I smiled and cheered silently as I watched them. "Yes!"

Sastified with my work, I decided to leave the two alone as I went upstairs to my room. However when I was about to leave, a rich masculine voice stopped me, "You helped him, didn't you?"

I spun around in surprise. It was you guessted it! Athrun Zala himself who came out of the shadows. I frowned at him. His black outfit managed to blend him into the shadows. However, his voice wasn't accusing me. "So what if i did? You have a problem with that?" I said as I went upstairs.

Athrun followed. "No problem. I'm just saying it was nice of you to set them up," he said.

I shrugged. "I guess. It was simple; they both liked each other for a very long time but was too scared to admit it to each other, so they always came to me. Besides, they look good together," I said.

Athrun smiled. "Yeah, so where are we going anyway?"he asked.

"_I_ am going to the upperdeck. It's a clear night tonight," I said as I reached the end of the hallway. "I don't know about _you_ though,"

I opened the door and went onto the deck. The evening was absolutely still. I sighed as I laid my hands on the railing. Athrun sighed as well. "Is this about earlier when I teased you?" he asked exasperated.

"Maybe," I grumbled for that was only part of it.

Athrun threw his hands up. "Oh c'mon! I was just having some fun! You'll forgive me, won't you?" he said. "Please?" he added as I glared at him.

I considered for a moment. He was a good guy, even though I just met him today. I wouldn't want to be enemies with him throughout the voyage. "Fine," I said.

Athrun smiled. "Thanks, Cagalli... What do you like most about the ocean?" he asked.

I smiled sadly to the ocean. "The moments I spent with my twin brother when I was younger," I said.

"What about now?" Athrun asked in curiosity.

I turned away. "I don't want to talk about it..." I whispered.

Athrun lowered his eyes as he seemed to understand. "Oh..." he said quietly.

I shrugged as I turned my back to the ocean. "Doesn't matter. It happened a long time ago," I said as the ocean breeze blew past me.

There was an uncomfortable silence as we stood there. Finally I said, "I should go; it's getting late,"

Athrun nodded. "Alright. I'll see you tomorrow then," he said.

I nodded once and left. But before I did so, I turned my head to see him lost in thought. I entered my room to see Mirillia twirl happily. I cleared my throat. Mirillia stopped and blushed. "O-oh... hi, Cagalli," she said in embarassement.

I smiled at her. "Hey, you seem happy," I commented, pretending I knew nothing.

Mirillia blushed even further but nevertheless still smiled that cute, innocent smile at me. "Guess what?! Tolle asked me to be his girlfriend!" she exclaimed happily as she sat on her bed hugging her pillow.

I grinned. "That's great! Afterall, you had a crush on him for many years now!" I said as I was happy for her.

Mirillia sighed happily as she got into bed and looked over at me while I brushed my hair and changed. "Y'know, I don't think you've ever had a crush or that I know of," she said.

I turned to face her. "Nah, no one would like me. I'm too wild to be a girl and besides, I'm not exactly what you call 'pretty'," I said as I turned off the main light and switched to lamp lights.

Mirillia shook her head. "You may be a bit wild, but you have a pretty face as well. Only problem is that you cover your face with your bangs," she said.

I sighed as I got into bed. "Maybe, maybe not. Anyway, we have a big day ahead tomorrow, so let's get some shut-eye," I said as I pulled the covers closer.

Mirillia didn't look convinced, but nodded. "Yeah, okay. See ya in the morning," she said.

"Goodnight,"I said as I turned off the lamp.

As we laid there in the darkness, Mirillia faced my back. _You know, if you are wild, there will always be someone who will be able to tame you. I'm sure that soon you will find someone that will. As for you, be more confident and all will succeed..._

As Mir started to snore gently, I rolled to face her. Will I ever get a boyfriend? Doubt crossed my mind. I sighed again as I waited for sleep to come.

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**A/N: Well that's it for this chapter! More will be found out about Cagalli's 'twin' (cough Kira cough) later on and I'm not completely sure whether Cagalli's and Athrun's relationship will go fast or slow, so far to me, it seems quite fast.. bleh.. Anyway, Thanks to all reviewers! I appreciate it!**


	3. Dangers of the Deep

**A/N: Here's chap 3! I'm quite happy since I've been getting a lot more ideas for this fic than my other one: Distant Memories and hopefully this fic will be as good or even better than that one. XD I've been getting a few reviews saying that they don't want AC relationship to be too quick, so I'll do my best to slow it down somewhat.**

**Question: (Girl Wonder 2005) It's fine for the fact that they met the first chapter, in fact I think it's really cute how they did so, but I didn't expect Athrun to be so open... well he just want's to make a friend out of her doesn't he?**

**Answer: Yes, he so far just wants to make friends with her. And in this chapter when he blushes only slightly, he was thinking how different Cagalli looked then her usual self.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the people from GS/GSD

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**Chapter 3: Dangers of the Deep**

As dawn approached, Cap and Heine got everyone to get up. When they came to our door and started to make a fuss, I started to grumble. "WHAT THE HELL IS IT?!" I roared angrily.

Heine opened the door and grinned. "And good morning to you too," he said.

Mirillia was still asleep. I glared at him through my half-awake eyes. "You better give me a good reason or else I'll pummel you with my pillow," I grumbled as I held up my pillow for offense.

Heine laughed. "Didn't you know? Even though you're all passengers, there's work to be done like washing the deck, helping the cook with breakfast, etc," he responded while Cap went to the other rooms.

Still, I was unsatisified with the answer and threw my pillow at him, who caught it and grinned at me. "C'mon, sleepy-head, time to get up. Everyone is meeting on the upperdeck to discuss their jobs before breakfast," he said as he threw my pillow back to me and went away.

Mirillia finally got up to the commotion and looked at me through half-awake eyes. "W-what's going on?" she yawned.

Sighing, I explained to her which made her awake. She groaned. "Awww... work... but still, it has to be done..." she said and got up to change.

I covered my face into my pillow and groaned loudly before getting out of bed.

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It took a while, but eventually everyone made it to the upperdeck. Dearka yawned widely as Yzak blinked rapidly. Lacus looked as if she was asleep standing up. The only person that was alert was Athrun. I glared at him. "How come you are fully awake?" I complained.

He grinned stupidly and looked at me through his shades. "With these, you don't really know if I'm truly awake or not," he said.

I scowled as Cap and Heine started to speak. "Here are the jobs that you'll have to do today and tomorrow: Wash the upper deck, the back deck, the front deck, help prepare breakfast, and clean all of the hallways. Each job will be done by two people and should be done before 10 when breakfast is ready. Now Heine will pick who will do what," said Cap.

Heine stepped forward. "Dearka and Mirillia will clean the hallways, Shiho and Yzak will help with the food, Kira and Lacus will do the upper deck, Athrun and Cagalli will do the front deck while Tolle and I will do the back deck," he announced.

We all looked at each other and sighed. "Let's get to it!" said Kira cheerfully as he and Lacus headed towards the upper deck.

Yzak scowled while Shiho looked slightly grim. "Well, you don't exactly look like Mr. Sunshine, Yzak," she said.

His scowl deepened. "I wasn't able to sleep and when I did, this idiot woke me up with his snoring," Yzak pointed an accusing finger at Dearka who looked hurt.

"_Moi_?! How dare you, Yzak! I'm hurt!" said Dearka who did look like a broken hearted puppy.

Mirillia giggled and Athrun stiffled his laughter. Yzak glared at his friend. "Yes you! You snored like the Oriental Express for heavens' sake! Kept me up all night!" he said.

Dearka sighed sadly. "Awww... I'm sorry that I disturbed your BEAUTY rest!" he said as he started to pace forward.

Yzak turned red. "DEARKA YOU DUMBASS! GET BACK HERE!" he roared like a lion and chased after the blond who was laughing hysterically.

The chase continued until Shiho dragged Yzak away by dragging his collar. "Let's go already!" she said and pulled him into the kitchen.

After everyone calmed down they each departed to do their own jobs. Dearka was laughing too hard to walk so Mirillia dragged him along too. "Let's go," said Athrun and I nodded.

We were each given mops and the two of us mopped the front deck. I tied my hair into a ponytail and clipped my front bangs (that I got from Mir) so they didn't cover my eyes as I worked. Athrun looked over and stopped. I noticed this and stopped as well. "What?" I asked in curiosity.

Athrun blinked and quickly shook his head as he lowered his eyes. "Nothing," he said as he continued to mop the front deck.

What I failed to notice was that there was a light tint of blush that covered his face. As we worked, I suddenly looked up. "Hey look at that!" I exclaimed as I let my mop drop and went over to the railing.

Athrun set his down and came over to my side to look as well. The sun was begining to come up and the atmosphere was beautiful. It had a lot of colours like silver and gold and was a rare sight. "Beautiful..." I gasped.

Athrun nodded slowly. "Oh yeah..." he said slowly.

It looked magical and what was even cooler was that when the sun started to appear, the first glow of the water was undescribeable. At first was a silver glow then a golden glow that seemed to blanket the waves. I turned to face him and smiled. "You don't see that everyday," I said.

Athrun nodded in agreement. "Yes, afterall, who is crazy enough to get up this early?" he commented.

I smiled in amusement. "You, me and everyone else are," I said as I picked up my mop again.

Athrun grinned and resumed as well. It took a long time to finish the gigantic front deck, but we managed to right before breakfast. Athrun went to the kitchen which was beside the dining room. He saw Yzak and called out. "Hey Yzak! You look great in an apron!" he commented.

Yzak scowled. "Shut up Zala. Your turn will come eventually," he said as he resumed work.

I went up to the open window and called out to Shiho. "So Shiho! What are we having?" I asked.

Shiho turned around and shrugged. "Bacon and eggs, pancakes, waffles, sausages and some other stuff," she replied. **(A/N: I don't really know what they really would have for breakfast, so I just put the stuff that I usually have. xp)**

I grinned. "Sounds great! Keep at it!" I said as more people came in after finishing their jobs.

I turned to face Mirillia who was all sweaty. "Hey Mir! How did it go?" I asked as I sat beside her at the dining table.

She gave me a tired smile. "Not as bad as I originally thought. Dearka's a real comedian! How about you?" she said.

Dearka heard his name and gave her a thumbs up. I shrugged. "Hard, the front deck is huge, but we were rewarded by the greeting of rosy-fingered Dawn," I replied.

Lacus smiled. "Yes, I saw it too! It was wonderful, wasn't it, Kira?" she said as Kira sat next to Athrun.

Kira nodded. "Yup! It was grand!" he exclaimed.

Soon the food came and everyone ate, including Yzak who looked slightly better than the day before. It was really good and everyone got a bit of everything. There were so many choices that I could see why it took so long. Everyone ate silently and slowly to taste the effort that was put into it. "It's great, Shiho!" Lacus exclaimed.

Shiho grinned. "Yeah but Yzak over there burnt quite a bit of the sausages," she said as she pointed to him.

Yzak cried out in protest. "I did not! Well- maybe a bit... BUT! They're still edible!" he said.

Dearka started to make choking noises. "HELP! -gasp- I-i'm cho-king!" he gasped as he coughed dramatically.

Yzak looked over in concern. "Dearka? You okay?!" he asked.

Finally Dearka couldn't handle it anymore. "I-i'm dying..." he gasped dramatically.

Kira hid his smile and everyone knew he was playing around, all except for Yzak. "Dearka?!" he said as he rose from his seat and went over to Dearka

Dearka coughed out blood and said brokenly, "Yzak... I-i'm dying..." he gasped for air. "From... your t-terrible cooking!" he laughed.

Yzak went from concerned to fury. "YOU IDIOT!! HOW DARE YOU MOCK ME?!?!" he bellowed.

Dearka laughed like a madman. Mirillia looked at him in amazement. "How did you cough out blood?" she asked.

Dearka wiped the tears out of his eyes and replied, "It's.. tomato juice! You shoulda seen the look on your face, Yzak!" he cracked up again.

Yzak however was no longer amused and started to strangle him. Dearka's face was a mix between laughter and surprise. "Okay! Okay! I'm sorry! Lemmego!" he said as Yzak glared into his violet eyes.

Yzak was satisified and dropped his friend who calmed himself down eventually. "But you did know when I said I was 'choking' I was joking?" he said.

I nodded. "Yeah, pretty hard to miss out. You should improve your acting skills," I said.

Dearka shrugged. "Meh, still fooled Yzak," he said and finished eating.

Yzak looked up to the ceiling and cried out, "Why me?!"

Kira shrugged as he stiffled his laughter. "Maybe it's because you're always so stiff," he pointed out.

Yzak rolled his eyes and cleared the table when everyone was done. When he thought no one was looking, Yzak smiled slightly. I saw him and I smiled. Yzak and Dearka were complete opposites, yet they were best friends. I guess it's how Yzak is able to smile every now and then, all thanks to Dearka.

After breakfast, we had free time and was able to do whatever we wanted to do. I went up to Heine. "Hey, Heine, do you know when we'll reach the first island?" I asked.

Heine looked thoughtful. "Well, all I know is that the nearest island is a long way from here so I guess maybe the next two days? We're out in the middle of the ocean so far," he said and then he looked embarassed. "I'm sorry, I don't know a lot of the details, I just help out with the passengers," he said apologetically.

I shrugged and smiled. "No worries. I was just curious. See you later," I said as I headed back up to the upper deck.

As I opened the door, I saw most of the group was playing volleyball in the water over a low net. Lacus looked over. "Hey! Cagalli! Come play with us!" she invited.

I shook my head and declined polietly. "Nah, that's okay, I'll just hang around," I said as I went over to Mirillia who was sketching.

"Hey Mir, what's up?" I asked as I took my seat next to her.

Mir looked over to me and smiled. "Oh nothing, just sketching the view. It's really pretty!" she said.

I nodded. "Yeah, I know. I heard from Cap that later on, he'll stop the Archangel and let us go diving," I said.

Mirillia smiled sadly. "That sounds fun, but I wouldn't be able to go, afterall, I can't swim," she said.

My smile fell. "Oh, well then, I'll stay here with you," I said.

Mirillia shook her head. "No, that's okay. You should go, afterall, you are a strong swimmer and ever since we were little, you loved to dive," she said. "I'll be fine,"

The frown on my face stayed. Mirillia smiled. "Go on! Don't worry, I'll find something to do, maybe I'll even watch you," she said.

I sighed in defeat. "Alright then. If you're sure," I said as I got back up.

Heine soon came onto the upper deck. "Cap says if you want to, he'll give the opportunity to stop the Archangel for about an hour or so and let you all go diving if you like," he said.

I looked back to Mirillia who nodded encouragingly at me. "We'll be meeting on the front deck, because there is a ladder to climb down to the ocean. Oh, and there are diving gear in the extra rooms in each of the dorms," said Heine.

Almost everyone got up and quickly went to get changed. In our dorm, since there were three rooms and two people shared a room, so there was one extra room which stored our diving gear. Lacus, Shiho and me all went to get diving masks, suits, air tanks and everything else that we needed.

I couldn't wait to go diving, because I felt at home near the water. We hurried down to the front deck to find that everyone was there except Mirillia and Tolle, who I suspected stayed to keep her company. Heine got everyone's attention by whistling. "Okay! Listen up! Everyone is connected together by the communication speaker that's attached to your masks. If there is trouble, just start speaking into it and the nearest person will come and help. It's also very important not to touch any of the coral because one gentle touch and there will be a lot of damage done to the coral, killing millions of micro animals. Is that clear?" he announced.

Everyone nodded in their suits. "Okay, since I will be leading this dive, no one must go too far from the Archangel and stay close to the closest person. Other than that, you may go anywhere you want. Is everyone ready?"

Everyone nodded again. "Let's go!" said Heine as he climbed down into the ocean followed by Kira, Lacus, Shiho, me, Athrun, Yzak and Dearka.

We all jumped to the water as soon as we got close enough. I dived deeper and deeper, seeing millions of lifeform swim around me. I stopped and gasped in amazement. I haven't been diving for such a long time and that it felt like home. "Amazing!" I gasped.

Lacus nodded. "Yeah," she said in agreement as she swam around in circles for fun.

I descended lower and lower. Suddenly a thought occured to me. Were there any sharks in the pacific?! Of course there is! Better not get too low... I swam slightly upwards. Shiho was swimming with Dearka and Yzak while they were looking at the coral reefs. There were so many colours and all quite bright as well.

I was enjoying my self so much that I didn't realize that Lacus was swimming farther and farther from the rest of the group without knowing. I opened my eyes to see that she suddenly disappeared. I searched rapidly as I soon became scared. "Lacus?" I called out but no answer.

Shiho heard me as she was the closest person to me. "What's going on?" she asked.

I shrugged. "I can't find her. Maybe she got distracted by something and swam off. Anyway, I'm going to go get her. Nothing to worry about," I said and left Shiho.

She nodded. "Alright,"

I swam and swam, but there was no sight of her. My heart pounded loudly within me as I got more and more nervous from leaving the safety of the ship. Lacus was no where to be found. "Lacus!" I called out, but no reply.

Where in hell did she go?! This wasn't good, she was supposed to stay within the ship's area, but it seemed that she had left it. And if she left it, then she also left the safe area. All of a sudden, I heard a scream that could only belong to one person. I swam faster and faster than before and soon came up to Lacus. "Lacus! What is it?!" I yelled.

Paralyzed, she slowly pointed to a big shadow in front. I looked further and my eyes widen in fear. I felt my heart stop. It was a mako shark.

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**A/N: That's it for this chapter. A cliffie! Sorry about that, but it's to raise the suspense just a ltitle. I may have over-teased Yzak by using Dearka, but I'm trying my best to maintain their personalities. Anyway, plz tell me what you think of this chapter. Thanks!**


	4. Savior

**A/N: Hi! Hope y'all like the mini cliffie in the last chapter and I apologize for not updating sooner. Spring break has come, so I'll have a lot more time to write now. I got some reviews saying how stupid Lacus was, well she's not stupid, she's just sorta easily distracted and self-doubt in this fic, but Cagalli will soon change that. Here's the 4th chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own GS/GSD **

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_**Last time: **Where in hell did she go?! This wasn't good, she was supposed to stay within the ship's area, but it seemed that she had left it. And if she left it, then she also left the safe area. All of a sudden, I heard a scream that could only belong to one person. I swam faster and faster than before and soon came up to Lacus. "Lacus! What is it?!" I yelled._

_Paralyzed, she slowly pointed to a big shadow in front. I looked further and my eyes widen in fear. I felt my heart stop. It was a mako shark._

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**Chapter 4: Savior**

I looked into the eyes of the monster in front. "B-back away s-slowly.." I said as my voice trembled like crazy.

I followed my own advice and Lacus did as well. Any wrong moves and this monster would attack. Suddenly I thought, if I posed enough of a threat to this mako, maybe i'll leave us alone. I slowly took out a small dagger that came with my diving gear and held it up to the shark. With fierce determination to save both Lacus and me, I was about to charge forward, but a voice shouted my name. "NO! DON'T!" I spun around.

"Athrun?!" I yelled, but too late, the mako made its atttack.

I closed my eyes fiercely as I waited for the impact, but it never came. Cautiously, I opened my eyes as saw a large stream of bubbles and a strange hissing sound. I looked to Lacus and saw that she looked quite confused as well. "Swim back to the ship!" Athrun yelled as he came out of no where through the stream of bubbles.

Lacus and I did not need to be promoted and swam for it. As I swam, I realized something. What happened back there and where was Athrun? I suddenly stopped and looked back. Athrun was slowing down and was struggling to swim. I quickly left Lacus and darted to him to see that the shark was gone along with the stream of bubbles. I looked to him and saw that he couldn't breathe and saw that his air gauge was nearly empty. I now knew what he had done and quickly took my air piece and gave it to him. He started to take small rapid breaths as he welcomed the source of air.

I pointed forwards to where Lacus waited for us and Athrun nodded. We swam back to the Archangel while sharing the oxygen back and forth. Everyone was already on board and was waiting for us. As soon as we got on the front deck, we took off our masks and air tanks and collasped. Heine was furious. "What the hell happened?! You weren't supposed to leave the area!" he thundered.

We shivered as Mirillia quickly went to get some more blankets for us. Since it seemed that I was the only one capable of speaking, I spoke, "S-sorry,"

My teeth clatterede loudly even in the broad daylight. Heine pounced on me. "What were you doing?! I gave specific instructions to you that you couldn't leave the area!" he yelled.

Hearing the commotion, Cap came over. "What ever is the matter?" he asked.

Heine, red-faced, explained the situation. I leaned closer to Lacus, who was also trembling from dampness and fear. Finally Cap turned to us. "Who went off in the first place?" he asked.

Since Lacus seemed so plae, I felt that I should speak in her place. "I di-" I was interrupted as Athrun spoke at the same time, "It was me, sir,"

Cap seemed only to have heard him. "So it was you, Mr. Zala?" he questionned.

I had to say something. "N-" I was silenced once more as Athrun gave me a stern look that told me to be quiet.

I stared in shock as Athrun nodded while still shivering. "Then you will spend the rest of the day confined to you room and will have your priviliges taken from you tonight, which includes the moonlight dance," said Cap.

Athrun nodded silently. "Yes sir," he said.

Cap faced all of us. "Now, for the rest of you, I suggest you all get changed for dinner," he nodded once and left.

Athrun left silently as the others went down to the lounge to chat. Lacus and I went ot get changed for dinner. As we ate in uncomfortable silence, I noticed that Heine was bringing up some soup for Athrun. I felt bad as I was eating, because here, we were eating as much as we wanted while fo rhis punishments, all he was getting wqas a little soup and it wasn't even his fault! I looked over to Lacus and saw that she felt the same way I did. As everyone finished eating, I took a clean plate and filled it with some of the food which included lobster and crabmeat.

Silently, yet quickly, I made my way up to the boys' dorms and went to the only room that was closed. I knocked gently and waited for a reponse, but for a while, it was silent. I knocked again, a little harder, but still nothing. Deciding that maybe he was asleep, I started to leave, but a voice called my name. "Cagalli?"

I spun around with the dishes in my hands. "Oh!" I said in surprise.

Athrun smiled as he saw the dishes. "Are those for me?" he asked.

I nodded. "Yeah, I thought you might be hungry," I said.

He grinned. "Yup, I most certainly am. Come on in," he invited.

I went in to find that his room looked more or less exactly like the room that Mirillia and I shared. Athrun sat on his bed to eat his dinner quickly while he mentionned the chair to me. I took my seat. There was a question that kept nagging at me. "Why?" I said.

Athrun stopped eating and looked up. "What?" he asked.

I looked into his emerald eyes. "Why? Why did you cover for me?" I asked.

A ghost of a smile flickered across his face. "Because... you covered up for Lacus," he replied easily.

I blinked. "You knew it was her?" I questionned.

Athrun chuckled. "Yeah, it's always been Lacus to wander off. You did good there, when facing the mako. You were calm," he said as his laughter died.

I blushed in embarassement. "No, I really wasn't! I've never been so scared! But when I pulled out that dagger, why did you stop me?"I asked.

Athrun's face darkened slightly. "The area here seems to be shark territory and sharks are drawn to blood. If you had attacked that mako and made even a small cut, he would have bled and then many sharks would come in an instant and have us surrounded," he explained.

I gasped slightly. "Oh, I didn't know... but you were much more braver than me and when you released the air, the pressure made so many bubbles that it scared the mako away. That was quite smart... but why didn't you tell Heine and the others about the mako?" I questionned.

Athrun shrugged. "It would be better to not let them know, besides, I don't mind taking punishments. It's always been this way since I was left with my father," he said.

I blinked. "Left with your father?" I repeated.

Athrun nodded. "My mother died when I was little," he said sadly.

I lowered my head in embarassement. "I'm sorry, I didn't know," I said quietly.

Athrun gave me a small smile. "How could you have? Anyway, aren't you going to that Moonlight Dance that was on tonight?" he asked.

I shrugged. "Maybe, there's still an hour or so and everyone else is busy chatting in the lounge. I thought you might be a bit lonesome, so I came to talk with you," I said.

Athrun smiled. "Thanks. You know, even though I just met you yesterday, I can talk to you easily," he said.

I blushed slightly. "Yeah.. me too," I replied.

Athrun changed the subject. "You want to play a game?" he asked as he walked over to the shelf that was in the room.

I shrugged. "Sure, what game?" I asked.

Athrun looked back at me. "How about chess?" he suggested.

I nodded. "Fine by me," I said.

We played for a bit but ended with Athrun winning. I sighed as I was defeated. "You're pretty good, Cagalli," Athrun commented.

I perked up slightly. "You think?" I said.

He nodded. "Yeah, judging from what I saw yesterday in Clue, I say that you're quite good with stragedy games," he said.

I smiled sadly. "Yeah... I used to always play with my brother..." I said softly.

Athrun looked at me like he was dying to ask a question, but didn't. If he had, I wasn't completely sure that I wouldn't tell him. But then again, at that time, I wasn't sure that I would have either. The past with my twin brother was really private and no one knew about it other than my mother and father. No one, not even Mirillia who I treated like my sister. Some secrets were meant to be kept. Athrun studied my face. _What is this sadness that you face? What happened to your brother? Would you tell me by the end of this trip?_ He asked mentally.

I stood up and stretched. "So are you going to go to the Moonlight Dance? It's probably almost done," Athrun said.

I shrugged. "Nah, I don't like to dance," I replied.

Athrun grinned. "Y'know what, you're a very interesting girl," he commented.

I shot him a curious glare. "In what way?" I asked suspiciously.

He held his hands up. "Not in a bad way! I just meant that you're different than the other girls!" he said.

I dropped my glare and shrugged. "Yeah I guess," I replied.

My hand went over to my belt as I gently figered my green-handled pocketknife. Athrun saw my movements and looked like he was going to ask a question, but decided not to. My face suddenly brightened as I thought of something. "Hey Athrun, do you want to get back at Heine for today's rude wake up call?" I asked.

A boyish grin spread across his handsome face. "What do you have in mind?" he asked.

I went over and quickly discussed my plan. Athrun nodded and grinned. "Alright! Sounds great. You tell the girls and I'll tell the guys to meet outside my room half past midnight okay?" he said.

I nodded. "Alright, see you then," I said as I got up.

"Oh by the way, don't fall asleep, afterall this is your plan," said Athrun.

I shot him a glace. "Don't worry, I'll be there," I said and went back to my room.

Athrun turned out to be right and it seemed like the dance was already over. I went inside my room and saw Mirillia who was in her pyjamas. "Oh hey Cagalli, where were you?" she asked.

"No where, I just went to talk to Athrun about today's events," I said.

Mirillia blinked. "Today's events?" she questionned.

"Yeah about why we were late today," I gave a brief explanation and changed out of my day clothes. Soon I heard a gentle knock at my door. Mirillia opened it to reveal Lacus. She looked a little nervous and maybe even flustered. "Um.. Cagalli, would you come to my room for a moment? I want to discuss something with you," she said quietly.

I blinked but nodded. "Okay," I said as I followed her to the room that she and Shiho shared.

As I went in, I saw that Shiho was already fast asleep. "What is it that you wanted to talk about?" I questionned quietly.

Lacus looked down to the wood floor. "Um.. about today.. it was all my fault for leaving the area. I spotted a group of unique fish and went for a closer look. I didn't realize that I had left the area and I dragged you along as well as Athrun,"

She then looked up. "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to disobey orders," Lacus spoke rapidly.

I looked in her in surprise. "What's done is done.. at least no one got hurt right? So don't worry about it," I said softly as I forgave the girl who looked like she was going to burst into tears any moment.

Lacus looked sad for a moment and then brightened. "Cagalli! You were really brave back there! You stood in front facing that mako! I-i only wish that I had a bit more courage," she said as he face dulled somewhat.

I lifted her face with my hand. "That's only one time. You are a good person; I'm sure you'll pay us all back one day, right?" I said gently.

Lacus smiled as she gave me a small hug. "Yeah, thanks Cagalli.." she said.

As I turned to leave, I remembered my idea. I spun around and my eyes fell on Shiho. "Umm.. Athrun and I are planning to play a prank of Heine. At half past midnight, he wants us to meet outside his room and then to Tolle's and Heine's. Do you want to take part?" I asked.

Lacus grinned. "Alright! Should I tell Shiho as well when the time comes?" she asked.

I nodded. "If you can get her up," I said and then left.

I returned back to my room and saw Mirillia in bed. "Mir, you awake?" I whispered.

Mirillia rolled over to face me. "I am now.." she said.

I sat on my bed and explained my plan. Mirillia rolled over and smiled. "Sounds good, just wake me up then," she said and immediately fell asleep.

I lied down but didn't fall asleep. Instead, I unhooked my pocket knife from my day clothes and looked at it. _Oh big brother, I'm having so much fun here. I wish you were still with me..._ I thought sadly as I glanced at it. For a second there, the moonlight flashed against my pocket knife and seemed as if my brother had been listening to me. I sighed and placed it close to me. I had made that promise that I would never part with it 12 years ago and I've never broken it. I felt thirst and went to my suitcase to get a bottle of water. Then I looked at my watch which read 11:15. Still had another an hour and 15 minutes, so I decided to relax for a bit and closed my eyes.

I didn't know what had happened, but when I opened my eyes for a quick moment, my watch read 12:30. I blinked several times before understanding that I was late. I ran over and shook Mirillia. "Mir! Time to get to action," I said as she sleepily got up and brushed her hair.

The two of us left the girls' hallway and went to the guys'. It turned out that everyone was already there except for Lacus and Shiho. Athrun studied my face and grinned. "Why are you late, Cagalli?" he asked. "Don't tell me you fell asleep after I told you not to,"

If I wasn't half-asleep, I would have pounded that pretty face of his. "N-no!" I declined but he smirked anyway.

I looked around. "Where's Lacus and Shiho?" I asked.

"Here!" whispered a shadowy figure who turned out to be Lacus who looked a bit exasperated.

Yzak looked past her. "What happened to Shiho?" he questionned, then quickly added, "Not that I care or anything,"

Lacus reddened slightly in embarassement. "Well, Shiho fell asleep and as much as I tried, I couldn't get that girl to wake up; that's why I was late," she explained.

Kira shrugged. "Oh well, I guess we'll just have to proceed without her and by the way, I brought my camcorder to record this," he said as he held up the device.

Athrun nodded and quietly turned the doorknob to Heine's room. Inside, I could see Heine's sleeping figure. Everyone quickly, yet quietly went around his bed. "On the count of three, lift the matress and we'll carry him up to the upper deck. One... two... three!" whispered Athrun and everyone lifted the mattress.

It was quite difficult to move especially getting him out the door, but eventually we got him to the upper deck. Luckily for us, Heine kept on sleeping and didn't realize the difference in the temperature. "Well, our wake up time is in 2 hours, so we'll check on him then," said Kira as he placed down his camcorder.

I nodded as I yawned. "Let's sleep now," I said sleepioly and everyone went back to bed. Before I fell asleep, I thoguht about today. How brave and smart Athrun was to think of using air to scare the mako away and how he took the blame for Lacus and me, even though he did nothing except save our lives. And he was kind too. In all, he was also an interesting guy and I think he would be a good friend, even though we just met yesterday. And at that time, I had no idea how much he would mean to me in the future or how much I would come to depend on him.

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**A/N: There we go! I'll write more about Cagalli and her 'brother' later on in the fic, and if I didn't mention it earlier, Cagalli's last name is Hibiki, not Athha and she has a mother and a father. Tell me what you think or your opinons!**


	5. Storm

**A/N: Hi guys! Thanks for the all the reviews on my previous three chapters! It makes me happy to hear your opinons good or bad about my fic! Here some things to clear up for some of you who had some questions:**

** -(in Ch.2 from simply -v-) Cagalli acted cold towards Athrun because even though he was a charming guy, he teases Cagalli a lot and Cagalli doesn't like to be teased. She was also sort of disappointed to find out that Lacus and Athrun had a history together so it seemed that she didn't really have that much of a chance. But back then, she was a bit love-denial because she didn't want to just fall for a pretty face and besides, she only knew him for a day.**

**-(in Ch.4 from simple -v-) Some say that it wasn't Lacus's personality to let Cagalli and Athrun cover for her and I agree with you. And if she did, she would've gone to see Athrun like Cagalli did. In this fic, I'm sort of planning to give Lacus a personality that needs to be fixed by Cagalli. (AKA shy and low self-esteem on bravery). I promise that by the end of this fic, Lacus would be like the real Lacus in GS/GSD**

**Hope that helped! Enjoy!  
**

**Disclaimer: I don't own GS/GSD **

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**Chapter 5: Storm**

I didn't get a lot of sleep thanks to last night's events, but in the end, I guess it was worth it. When we went up, Heine started to wake, but unfortunately for him, he unsuspectingly rolled off the mattress and fell into the pool. Everyone laughed, even Shiho who was a bit bummed that she missed out on the event. It was hilarious to see Heine sputtering and looking bewildered on waking up in such an unusual place.

I tapped Kira on the should. "Hey, Kira, tell me you got that on tape?" I said.

Kira grinned. "Definitely, wouldn't miss to catch that fine moment," he answered.

Luckily for us, Heine didn't make much of a fuss about it and even laughed when he saw his expression on waking up on the upper deck. However, he still made us do our chores and now here I am on the upper deck. I paused my mopping as I noticed that Athrun was looking upwards at the sky with a thoughtful expression. "What's up?" I asked as I came over to his side to look at the sky as well.

"Looks like there is a big storm brewing," he murmured distantly.

I stared into the black sky. Clouds were gathering fast and it seemed that Athrun was right. "It won't get us right?" I asked, concerned.

Athrun shrugged as he continued to mop. "Let's hope not, because if it gets us, I'm not sure what will come of it," he said as his face darkened slightly. "But don't worry about that and let's finish our work,"

However, as I worked, I couldn't help but worry. Was he joking as usual? I had a feeling that he wasn't. His face looked quite worried despite his best to relax. Later on in the afternoon, things got worse. It was getting much colder and the wind started to howl around us. When I went to speak with Cap about my worries, he said, "Nah, a little rain won't hurt. The decks are made of wood so they'll just soak it up. Besides, it hasn't rained for the past week, so a little rain would do this boat and us some good,"

So eventually I forgot about it. That night, we heard thunder and there was a black out in the ship. Mirillia yelped in surprise and clung onto Tolle when the lights went out in the lounge. I stood up in surprise. "Everyone, calm down... I'll just go and check the power supply that is in the boiler room. I should be able to get everything working soon," said Heine as he left us in the dark.

Mirillia whimpered slightly as we sat in uncomfortable silence. "Tolle... I'm scared of the dark..." she whispered.

Tolle held Mirillia closer to him. "Don't worry, Mir. I'm right here. Nothing will happen," he said as his voice started to calm her down slightly.

I sat back down. "This is strange... could it be because of the interference of the storm?" Athrun murmured beside me.

My fear started up again. Cap came back into the room with Heine and a candle. "It seems that we may be in for a rough ride because the electricity won't function. But I'm sure we'll be okay, since the Archangel is a pretty strong ship," said Cap, trying to calm us down.

However, we could all hear the nervousness in his voice which didn't calm us too much. Heine sat down beside us and sighed. "If this storm passes us, I'll clean my room so much that you can eat off it," Dearka murmured.

Yzak whacked him. "Yeah right! Your room looks like a tornado mess!" he argued.

Dearka sighed. To calm us down a bit, Lacus started to sing and boy! Did she ever have a good voice! "Lacus, you sing so well," I commented.

Shiho nodded in the dark. "Yeah," she agreed.

Lacus reddened in embarassement. "O-oh, thanks.. I want to be a pop-star after high school and I've been taking singing lessons," she admitted.

Kira smiled. "I think you'll be able to accomplish that," he said.

After a while Yzak spoke up. "It's getting late; we should go to bed," he said as he got up.

Everyone nodded, but I felt much safer with the rest of them than in my room. But at least Mirillia was there. No one felt like sleeping so no one had their PJ's on. As I laid in bed, fully awake, I could feel the ship jerking back and forth violently and I could hear thunder. However, it didn't rain. As I looked out the window, I could see lightning. "Cagalli, will the lightning get us?" Mirillia's small voice piped up.

I tried my best to smile as I rolled to face her. "No, it seems quite far," I said, but deep down, I was afraid that that very thing would happen.

Mirillia smiled. "Thanks Cagalli, you alway make me feel a little better," she said as she soon fell asleep.

Eventually I did too, but that was when disaster struck. I was dreaming of when I was little and how my brother was always there with me. _Laughing and playing together. Being there always. But one day on a clear day, it suddenly became dark. Pouring rain fell onto us as we paused. Brother held his hand out to me while I slapped it away. "Stop it! Why are you so perfect?!" I had screamed and I pushed him._

_Brother looked at me in surprise, but lost his balance and fell into the current. He was swept away but kept crying my name to help him. "Cagalli!"_

I screamed as I sat up in bed sweating like crazy and felt like my head was going to split. My heart was beating furiously in my chest and I was sweating like there was no tomorrow. As I calmed down somewhat, I finally noticed the heat. What the hell? Didn't Heine said that there was no electricity? Then how was he able to get the heater on? I got out of bed and went across the room. Then I touched the doorknob only to yell out in pain as I withdrew my hand. The doorknob was burning hot! Then I quickly looked down to see smoke was starting to enter. Panicking, I ran and screamed out Mirillia's name. "Mir!! Wake up! WAKE UP!!!!" I screamed.

Mirillia opened a sleepy eye but then was alert as she saw my twisted worried face. "C-cagalli? What's going on?!" she asked.

I panted heavily. "W-we have to get out of here!" I yelled as I pulled her out of bed.

Mirillia looked at me as if I was nuts. "What's going on?!" she repeated her question.

I grabbed my robe that was hanging and threw it onto the doorknob. "Brace yourself," I said and I thrust the door open.

Flames roared outside, so much that my eyes started to water. "F-fire!" Mirillia cried as she looked terrified.

For a moment, as I looked into the fire, I felt lost in it. It was beautiful, yet dangerous. The flames were intense and I wouldn't have stood there mezmorized if Mirillia didn't scream out in horror. "F-fire... MOTHER!... FATHER!" she screamed as tears streaked down her face.

I regained my senses as I remember what was happening around me. I looked at her and grabbed her hand. "Outside!! Outside now!!" I yelled as I pulled her into the flaming hallway, dodging falling objects and such.

As the hallways were connected, I heard other voices too. "Hurry!!! Run!!"

I suddenly paused. "Athurn!?" I yelled.

Suddenly I saw a blanket come towards us. Inside it were Athrun and Dearka. "Get in!" Dearka yelled and we didn't need to be convinced.

We ran while holding the wet blanket. Mirillia choked on the smoke and coughed. I pulled her up. "We have to get out!" I shouted as she nodded and continued to run.

After what seemed like a visit to hell, we got out onto the front deck to see that it wasn't much better. To make things worse, the wooden deck had a gigantic black hole in it all the way to the bottom. We all gasped, but Athrun was the first one to recover his senses. "Climb downwards into the water!" he yelled.

Some choice we had! Either stay on the burning boat and burn alive or take shelter in the inhospitable, terrifying sea! For me, I wanted neither, but to stay alive, I'll have to risk the churning waters.

Dearka nodded and climbed down and then dived into the water. After a bit, he resurfaced, gasping while staying clear of flamming objects like oil cans that were in the water. "Mirillia! You next!" I yelled.

She hesitated. "Tolle! Where's Tolle?!" she cried.

I turned back. "I'll get him now GO!" I yelled as she nodded numbly and climbed down into the terrifying rocky sea.

Mirillia sunk like a rock as I forgot she couldn't swim, but luckily, Dearka could and managed to get her to hold onto a large piece of wood.

"Hold onto this!" Dearka had yelled as he climbed on top of what seemed to be a cabin wall.

Once seeing that they were okay for the moment, I went back to find Tolle while dodging falling beams. I ran downstairs as fast as I could but covered my eyes to the smoke. "T-tolle!" I yelled as my voice started to crack.

I coughed and coughed. "Tolle!" I shouted again.

Nothing, fire was everywhere and was spreading rapidly. Everything was a mess and I choked on the smoke. Athrun suddenly came in while holding the blanket. "WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!!!! WE HAVE TO GO!!!" he yelled.

I looked back with my eyes blurred with tears from the smoke. "T-tolle..." I said.

"He's probably fine! The lifeboat was gone!" he said quickly.

I nodded as we went back up to the hallway. As I was about to reach the front deck, I remember my knife. I went back while Athrun screamed my name. I panted and coughed while the smoke was getting thicker and heavier. Finally as I got to my room, it wasn't my room no longer. Everything was burnt. Frantically, I ran over to my bedside table which seemed to be the only thing still standing and took my knife. "CAGALLI! GO!" Athrun yelled as he came to get me.

I nodded. Together, we dodged the fire and reached the front deck. Clipping the pocketknife to my capris, he and I dived for the sea. As I plunged down deep into the water, the heat started to escape me. I swam upwards as I discovered it was A LOT harder to do while there was a tropical storm around. Eventually I broke the water and reached the surface while gasping for air. "CAGALLI! ATHRUN!!!" yelled two voices.

Athrun was beside me, coughing from the sea water as well. "C-c'mon," he said as his voice started to crack as well.

We swam and swam against the current until we reached the 'raft' that Mirillia and Dearka were waiting for us. They pulled up on board as the two of us gasped for air and coughed out sea water. As soon as Athrun regained his breath, he yelled at me. "What did you think you were doing?!!! YOU COULD'VE DIED!!!"

I was dripping wet as I faced him. "I-i h-had to get it.." I whispered as the scene before me was the only thing that caught my eyes.

The ship that was our home for the past three days was slowly disappearing. Flames had ingulfed the whole thing and were going out as the Archangel was sliding into the sea. "Archangel..." I whispered.

That night was like a nightmare that I couldn't wake up from. It was only moments after we dived for the sea that the Archangel sunk. And everyone else was missing, who I didn't want to believe were dead. It was pitch black and the silence was uncomfortable.

Mirillia started to cry as she found out that we didn't find Tolle. Dearka was the only one who was capable to calm her down somwhat. "Before I jumped, I noticed that the lifeboat was gone, so that means that Tolle and the others have a good chance of surviving. He'll be okay," he said.

Mirillia looked up at Dearka through her tears. "Y-you promise?" she asked.

Athrun and I exchanged secret glances and we both frowned, trying to hope for the best. "I promise," said Dearka.

Fortuantely for us, the storm died about an hour later because I was sure if it didn't let up, we would've loosen our grip and fell into the cold sea. It was still the middle of the night, but no one could sleep at all. I doubt we could after all that had happened to us. "Why..?" Mirillia asked quietly.

"Why did this happen?" she asked again when no one replied.

I sighed. "I think that lightning must have struck our ship's boilers and they probably blew up causing gasoline to leak to make fire," I replied.

Mirillia shook her head slowly. "No.. that's not what I meant. Why, why did this have to happen?" she asked.

To that, no one was able to answer. "I don't know Mir..." Dearka replied.

I sat there quietly as I knew we weren't going to be found anytime soon. No SOS was signaled and no one would notice that the Archangel wasn't going to arrive at our destination until our two weeks passed. Two weeks... would we even last that long? No water, no food; no anything. I checked my water-proof watch that glowed in the dark. It was our only source of light, even if it wasn't much. It was close to one in the morning and I felt that it was getting colder and colder. I shivered. Then suddenly I felt something around my shoulders. I looked back.

Athrun grinned in the dark. "Well my black jacket is somewhat useful," he said in his green t-shirt.

I smiled despite our circumstances. "Thanks," I said as I valued its warmth.

I heard gentle snoring and looked behind. Mirillia leaned on Dearka's shoulder as she slept, while Dearka slept sitting. "Why did this have to happen?" I whispered, repeating Mirillia's earlier question.

Athrun looked at me in surprise. "I don't know. It was our bad luck. There was nothing we could have done to prevent this. Fate prepared it for us," he whispered.

I looked up at the sky, where the black clouds were slowly parting and revealing the beautiful and mystical night sky. "Then will fate keep us safe? No SOS was sent and no one will know where we are. And to make matters worse, we have no water and no food. We won't be able to last long," I whispered sadly.

Athrun turned my shoulders around so that I faced him directly, face to face. I blushed slightly as I noticed how close he was. He frowned slightly. "What is the matter with you? You're the last person I thought would give in! We can't give up, Cagalli! No matter how much sadness comes our way or how impossible it is to keep living in our state, we can't give up," he said determindly.

I stared at him in surprise. His voice had so much strength in it while I, was a useless idiot. Despite my tough, calm, un-worrying act, I'm still a frightened person inside. It was all a mask, a mask that covered my emotions and made me seem stronger, but really didn't. Instead, I felt myself getting weaker in this situtation. "We were all given lives for a reason, and that reason is to keep on living up to the maxium limit. There are people who die early because of unfortunate events or sickness. But they didn't want to die; they wanted to keep on living. So we can't give up our lives because even if you wanted to die, there are people who died that wanted to keep living," Athrun said fiercely.

"Understand, Cagalli?" he added as his facial expression softened as he noticed how shocked I looked.

After a moment or two, his words sunk into me. I understood what he meant. Afterall my brother died and it was all my fault. He shouldn't have died all because of my stupid mistakes. But he would have wanted me to be happy and keep living even if he wasn't going to be with me. I looked into Athrun's emerald eyes and nodded. "I understand, Athrun," I whispered softly as I felt a bit of strength flowing back into me.

He smiled at me and ruffled my hair as if I was a dog. I grumbled at having my hair ruffled. "That's good. Now, we should sleep, since we didn't get much rest. Tomorrow we'll take watches, but not tonight since we're all exhausted. Okay?" he said.

I nodded. "Alright," I said as I laid down on my right side.

"See you in the morning," said Athrun and the two of us fell asleep, drifting from the painful reality.

Dreams were sweet and made us forget our losses, even if it was only for a moment. But to the four of us, dreams were priceless that night.

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**A/N: That's the end of this chapter! What happened the the other 8 people? Who survived and who didn't? (Give me your guessses! XD) Anyway, like I said in the previous chapter, more will be learned of Cagalli's past and how 'he' died.**


	6. Longest Day

**A/N: Hey everyone! Sorry for not updating for a bit! But I finally got this one thought out. It's a bit shorter than the others but still good, I hope. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own GS/GSD **

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**Chapter 6: Longest Day**

The next morning, when I opened my eyes to see a bright sun up ahead, I found out that I had unconciously snuggled up to Athrun while I was asleep because at this moment, I was at his side with my hands and knees tucked in. I blushed and quickly moved away from him, hoping that he didn't notice of feel anything. And he moaned as he opened his eyes and then shielded them from the sunlight. My face still hot red, I stammered good morning. "G-good morning, Athrun. Did you sleep well?"

He yawned and stretched. "Better than I thought, but I'm completely stiff," he answered.

I nodded. I didn't mind sleeping on a hard surface, but this wasn't the best place to sleep, especially when you are afraid that you might fall into the sea any moment. I looked behind me towards Dearka and Mirillia who were sleeping peacefully. "Should we wake them?" I asked Athrun as he sat back down.

"Nah, let them sleep a little longer; they'll appreciate the rest. Besides, it's a lot quieter when Dearka's asleep, actually, it's the only time he's quiet," Athrun said good-humorly.

I smiled. He was so optimistic. I took out my pocket knife. "So you think we are able to get anything to eat?" I asked hopefully.

Athrun shrugged. "Not to burst your bubble, but we have no fishing equipment, unless you catch something with your bare hands. Besides, I really doubt there's any fish that swims this close to the surface," he said.

My shoulders slumped somewhat. "Oh," I said disappointedly as I resheafed the pocket knife.

I clipped it back to my capris and kept it safe for it was our only tool that we had. I heard a small moan and looked back. To my amazement and surprise, Mirillia accidentally rolled off the small 'raft' and fell into the water. She awoke instantly and called for help. Luckily for us, there weren't any waves today since it was a clear sky so we were able to get her back safely. "T-thanks," Mirillia spluttered as she was soaked to the core.

"No problem," I said as I turned to Athrun. "I think your idea that you told me yesterday about taking watch while we sleep sounds like a good idea," I said as I imagined myself fall and maybe even drown in my sleep and I frowned.

Athrun grinned. "Yeah, I know. That's why I suggested it in the first place," he said and I punched him gently but firmly on the shoulder.

He stopped laughing as he fell over the side and into the water. He started to kick his legs, but he seemed to be sinking. Athrun had a panicked look. "Agh! Help!" he cried out.

Shocked, I reached out my hand without thinking and Athrun grabbed it, pulling me into the water. It was so fast that I had no idea what had happened until I was in the water next to him with him laughing his head off. "Can't believe you fell for it, Cagalli!" he laughed.

I scowled and splashed him with the face with sea water, making him splutter. I climbed back on board the raft and turned my back to him. I couldn't believe how stupid I was to fall for it either. As much as I hate to admit it, he had me scared for a moment before he started to laugh. Athrun climbed on board as well and he wiped off the sea water off his face. "Cagalli! That stung! The water got into my eyes," said Athrun.

I shot him a cold glare. "It was your fault, you idiot," I replied.

Mirillia sweatdropped as she looked back and forth between my cold glare and his hurtful expression. "C'mon, you two, knock it off," she said.

I shrugged and still had my back towards him. "Whatever," I muttered.

Suddenly a sleepy voice said, "What is the matter? Why is there so much commotion first thing in the morning?"

Athrun dropped the hurtful expression and went to the teasingly happy expression. "About time you got up, Sleeping Beauty," he teased.

Dearka's facial expression suddenly turned gloomy as he remembered his remark to Yzak about 'beauty rest'. Now he didn't know if he'll be able to see his best friend again or tease him. Athrun seemed to have read his mind because he said, "Oh, I didn't mean to upset you, Dearka. He'll be okay, you know?"

Dearka smiled sadly. "Yeah," he said and then thought, _He better be..._

The morning was fine, but as the time of day hit somewhere in the afternoon, the heat was unbearable. And to make things worse, the heat all made us feel thirstier. Dearka groaned. "Oh man! What would I do for some ice tea!" he complained.

We said nothing but agreed in silence. I dipped my hand into the water to feel that the water temperature wasn't too much different. Athrun still looked somewhat okay. Only Mirillia and I felt that we were going to split. Maybe coordinators had the ability to cool themselves down somewhat. The raft was incredibly uncomfortable and we all had to sit in one spot while not being able to move. Finally I spoke, "Can't you two coordinators like swim and pull us back to the nearest shore?"

Athrun and Dearka looked at me as if I was crazy. "Oh yeah! If pigs could spread their little wings and fly, I would find this enormous strength and drag you all to shore," said Athrun sarcastically.

I narrowed my eyes. I still hadn't forgiven him. "It was just an idea, okay? Jeez... stupid heat is making me lose it!" I said.

Athrun took his jacket, which was at his side and dipped the whole thing into the water and then held it over us. To my surprise, the soaked jacket provided some shade and made it a little bit cooler. I closed my eyes and tried to relax, but failed. My hunger and my thirst nagged at me.

Night was the worst. It was burning during the day and now it was freezing during the night. Athrun's jacket was still a bit wet but blocked us from the wind. I looked up at the night sky to see that there was no moon. Everything was covered with a blanket of darkness. If I held my hand out in front of my face, I could barely see the outline of it. We took turns taking watch. It was Dearka's turn, then Mirillia's, then Athrun's and then me.

When Athrun woke me, despite my being awake and not being able to sleep, I got up immediately and sat up. My throat burned and my lips were cracked. How much longer were we going to last like this? The hunger was still bearable while thirst wasn't. During school, whenever I felt the slightest thirsty, I would go to the nearest fountain and take a sip of water. And sometimes when I had a bottle of water and couldn't finish it, I would let it spill and then throw away the bottle. Sitting here, I realized how precious water was and that we should never waste it if we were fortunate enough to get some. I sighed as I looked out to see nothing.

As the cold breeze blew past me, I brought my knees close and held onto my legs. It was a bit frightening. As I looked out to sea, I felt as if I was blind because I could see nothing except darkness all around. "Tatsuya.. I wish you were here," I whispered.

Suddenly a voice said out of no where, "Tatsuya? Who is he?"

I spun around to see emerald eyes in the dark. They seem to glow. I looked back to sea. "No one in particular," I responded.

Athrun sighed as he slowly came over to my right side. "Listen, are you still mad about earlier?" he asked, exasperated.

I said nothing as I glared into the darkness. Athrun threw his hands up in defeat. "Jeez! I'm sorry alright?" he apologized and added, "Man.. you sure hold grudges!" in mumbles.

I gave him a cold look before forgiving him. He sort of reminded me of Aniki. "Apology accepted," I murmured.

Athrun held a small smile. "So.. how long do you think we'll last?" he asked for my opinon.

I looked at his face, with his green eyes glowing in the dark like a cat's. I shrugged. "I don't know.. maybe 5 days at the most. We have no water and no food. We can go without food for about a month, but water is a definite problem," I said.

Athrun nodded in the dark. "Well what do you think we should do? Should we just try to stay in the place closest to where the Archangel sank or do you think we should seek some sort of shelter like land?" he asked once more.

I frowned in the darkness. "Usually I would say that we should stay in one place, but no SOS was sent so no one will know of the Archangel's disappearance until some time later. For now, I say we should seek land," I said.

And then I shrugged. "But I don't know if that's the best idea though; just my opinon," I said quickly.

Athrun grinned. "No, no, that's what I thought too. We'll talk about this with Mirillia and Dearka later in the day," he said.

I looked at him. He didn't look sleepy at all. "Aren't you supposed to be asleep?" I asked.

Athrun shrugged in the darkness. "I guess, but I'm used to staying up all night since I was a small child," he replied.

I looked out to the horizon where we could see a slight silver light which indiqued that the sun was begining to rise. "I wonder if Tolle and the others will be okay," I said.

Athrun placed his hand on my head. "We don't know, but we can hope for the best, afterall, all we know was that the lifeboat was taken," he said.

Suddenly something came to me. I looked up at Athrun. "Back on the Archangel that day, you shared a room with Kira, correct?" I asked.

Athrun nodded and mentioned for me to continue. "Then how did you seperate from him and ended up with Dearka in the fire?" I asked curiously.

Athrun looked to the horizon as well. "It was Kira who felt that it was getting warmer and warmer and then impossible to sleep. He was planning to tell Heine that the heat was up way too much and then opened the door to see fire. Kira woke me up and explained the situation and we rushed into the hall to meet up with Yzak and Dearka," he swallowed.

"The heat was quite unbearble but we all decided that we had to get everyone out of their rooms or else we'd all be toasted. As we were going for one direction, Dearka and I were in the front and suddenly a beam fell between Kira and I. But before a wall of fire seperated us, Kira told us that he and Yzak would find Heine, Tolle and the others while he told us to find you and Mirillia. And we did for you are with us, but I didn't see Kira since then," Athrun explained.

I lowered my eyes. "I see," I said as I could see how worried Athrun was about his friends despite his calm appearance.

Athrun looked back at me and smiled. "Your watch is over, and the sun will be up soon. You want to rest?" he asked.

I shook my head. "I'm okay," I said.

Athrun stood on his knees (because he didn't want to flip the raft) and had his back to mine. "Well, to make things slightly easier, you should lean up against my back and you'll be able to relax a bit," he said.

I smiled. "Yeah, okay, thanks," I said as I did as he instructed.

Athrun closed his eyes and fell asleep while I watched the sun rise for another day.

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**A/N: That's the end of this chapter! Things kinda suck for Cagalli and the others right now, but hopefully, things will shape up. **


	7. Another Storm

**A/N: Hii! I haven't updated for a while because I sorta had a bit of a writer's block, but I'm now back on track! I hope this one is as good or better than the other chapters because it took me a loong time to figure things out. Anyway, enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own GS/GSD!

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Chapter 7: Another storm: Better or worse?

The next day was torture; we had no water and no food. The unbearable heat of the tropical sun didn't make it any better either. As a day passed, the day felt much longer. We didn't talk much because Dearka said that we would dehydrate even faster. As I splashed the sea water onto my face to make myself a little cooler, I heard a sound I felt that I haven't heard in years. It was the sound of drinking. I looked over the raft and saw that Dearka and Athrun did the same. Then I looked in horror to Mirillia who was drinking off the side of the raft. I went over to her and shook her. "Mir! Stop it!! You'll dehydrate even faster!" I yelled.

Mirillia stopped and looked at me, dazed. "It's water right? Who cares if it has a bit of salt in it," she whispered.

I shook her harder. "Sea water makes you see things that aren't really there and you'll die much faster this way!" I said as I tried to snap Mirillia out of it.

Mirillia released herself from my grip and stared out into the sea. "I've always been afraid to die, but right now, it doesn't seem that bad. Thirst feels much stronger than death. Besides, how much longer will we last?" she said distantly.

I clenched my teeth and slapped her across her face leaving a dark red mark across her cheek. Mirillia held her hand up to her face as she looked at me in shock. Athrun and Dearka looked at me in surprise as well. "What did you do that, Cagalli?" she questioned as tears started to threaten.

"You can't die! Not now! We have to survive! You're just running away!" I yelled as I also felt like crying.

Mirillia said nothing as she glanced at me angrily. Dearka sat next to her and lifted her chin. "Besides, Tolle will be waiting for you. He'll be waiting to see your face; to hear your voice. So please, don't give in yet," he whispered as Mir's eyes widened in surprise.

She turned her glance away from me and looked into Dearka's violet eyes. Tears fell from her eyes. "T-tolle?" she whispered, sounding like a frightened six year old.

Dearka nodded. "Yeah, Tolle. So please, don't give in. Tolle wants you to be strong for him," he said gently.

I watched in amazement as I felt that Mirillia felt the strength and gentleness in Dearka's voice as he calmed her down. Mirillia smiled through her tears as she felt asleep exhausted. Dearka sighed in relief. "I'm just glad she didn't know how little I believed my own words," he said quietly to us.

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The next day came slowly for us and I saw that Athrun was quite distracted and kept looking upwards at the greying sky with worry on his face. "Jeez, it turned so cloudy all of a sudden," Dearka remarked as he also saw Athrun glanced up.

I looked up too see that clouds were hurring and forming quickly but didn't know why Athrun was worried, afterall this was quite normal, especially at sea. However, I kept the possiblity in my mind. Truthfully, I was a bit grateful for the clouds because they shaded us somewhat fom the sun. That helped for the thirst slightly. Swallowed was very painful and we were all begining to feel it. It felt like we were splitting into two and it seemed to me that we had about 2 or 3 days at the most which started to worry me. We saw no land or anything except water, water and more water!

I started to wish it didn't have to end like this until I thought of something I felt like I haven't seen since my previous life. Grey clouds equals **RAIN! **Rain equals **SURVIVAL!** "Please rain!" I murmured as I looked up.

Athrun narrowed his eyes. _I think we'll get more than just a little rain.. In fact, if I am correct (and I usually am) we are headed for a tropical storm.._ he thought.

In my entire life, I have never felt so bored. I remember recalling times when I was on my laptop saying that I had nothing to do and was bored. _Now_ this is _extreme_ boredom. I would never complain again about boredom if I could get off this raft and actually do something worth doing.I groaned.Athrun looked over and smiled. "How about you guys get some sleep since there's not much to do?" he suggested.

Mirillia shrugged but agreed. "Alright, since we stay up every night anyway," she said.

Dearka agreed with Mirillia which wasn't much of a surprise to me. I looked at Athrun suspiciously. "Is there something going on?" I asked.

Athrun looked at me amused. "No! Nothing! I'm just suggested that we save our strength in case something happens. Besides since we take turns taking watch, we don't get that much sleep. Anyway, you won't noticed the heat when you sleep, so I just thought it would be a good idea," he lied.

His answer was good enough for me. "Alright, you'll keep watch then?" I asked.

Athrun nodded and said nothing. I laid down next to Mirillia and Dearka, since there wasn't much room on the raft and opened one eye to look at Athrun. He looked at the sky and even from here, he looked nervous and worried. I found it really wierd but thought no more about it.

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I found myself back into my past when I heard a familar voice call my name. _"Hey Cags! Wait up for me!"_

_I turned to see Tatsuya run up to me. "Geez, you're so fast!" he groaned as he finally caught up to me._

_I grinned. "I'm not fast; you're just slow, Ta-chan," I answered as I picked up my long dress and ran up the hill._

_"Slow down! You'll fall!" he called as I went up._

_I laughed and twirled my long dress around. "Nope! I won't!" I said delightfully and innocently as I continued up the big hill._

_But it seemed like his words were listened to because the next thing I knew, I had tripped over a big root sticking out of the ground and fell quite hard. I cried out in pain because I felt that my foot had been twisted in half. Tatsuya forgot about his pain and quickly came up to me. "Cags! You okay?" he asked, concerned for my well-being._

_I looked up and started to cry. "I-it h-urts!" I cried as I brought my hands up to my face._

_He bent down so that he was level with me. He held out his hand to wipe my tears away. "There, there. Didn't I tell you to be careful?" he asked._

_I narrowed my eyes through my tears. "T-ta-chan!!! I-i'm in pain and you're making fun of me!!" I sniffled._

_Tatsuya laughed silently as he turned his back to me. "C'mon, just get on. I'll carry you to the top of the hill, okay, nee-chan?" he said as he smiled._

_I stopped crying as I looked into aniki's face. He was really slow at doing anything, but at whatever he did, he did them accurately and correctly. Aniki was also really kind. We were total opposites; I was fast, while he was slow. I was always impatient, while he seemed like he could wait forever. Finally I decided that I would take this chance. "Okay!" I said as I slowly moved myself into a piggy-back position._

_Slowly, but safely, Tatsuya carried me up in his strong arms. I felt safe and protected as he did so. Eventually, we reached the top of the hill and the sight that waited for us was very grand; we could see the whole city and as a bonus, we could see the ocean also. I forgot about my pain in my foot and gasped at the beautiful sight. "Wow!! So beautiful!" I said delightedly._

_Ta-chan chuckled. "I told you that you would like it, Cags. Afterall, you do like the ocean, right?" he said as his violet eyes gleamed._

_I nodded. "Yes!" I exclaimed._

_Ta-chan smiled. "One day, I'll take you on a boat out to sea. You'd like that wouldn't you?" he asked._

_I nodded enthousiastically. "Okay! You promise?" I asked as I held out my right arm to show him my pinky._

_Ta-chan took and and grinned. "Promise," he said._

_At that moment, he seemed very much like an angel sent from heaven. I sighed happily, waiting for the day that he promised me. "I love you, big brother," I whispered._

But unfortunately for me, that day never came because my beloved aniki's life was cut short and it was all because of me.

I woke up, feeling my heart beating really fast in my chest. I sat up quickly and glanced around. I had momentarily forgotten where we were and was lost in my dream. I sighed sadly as I looked up at the sky. My eyes widened in fear as I saw how dark and big the clouds were. They were grey before, but now, it was almost black. And it felt colder, much colder; like _that _day. I looked to my side. "Athrun?" I called out.

Athrun looked at me in worry. "It seems that we are headed for another storm," he said deathly quiet.

The colour drained from my face. "A-another one? Here, out at sea?!" I whispered.

Athrun nodded. "Yeah... and a major one too..." he said.

I swallowed but I knew a storm would arrive. I had hoped against hope that we would not be caught up in it, because after the last storm, I didn't want to see another one ever again. And our chances of survival at sea with nothing but a flimsy raft? Slim... very slim. "How long?" I asked.

Athrun looked up. "In about an hour or less," he said as the fierce wind blew.

I looked to my other side where Mirillia and Dearka slept peacefully. "Should we wake them up?" I asked.

Athrun nodded. "We should, before it gets any worser than it is now," he said.

So I woke up Dearka and Mirillia. Mirillia looked a little grumpy at the time but snapped out of it as soon as she looked up at the sky. "W-what happened there?" she asked.

"Looks like a storm is coming?" Dearka observed.

Athrun smirked. "Wow, Dearka! When have you been this smart?" he teased.

Dearka rolled his eyes at his friend. "Shut it, Athrun or is it 'Asu-chan' that Meer calls you?" he said sweetly.

I blinked. "Who's 'Meer'?" I questionned as I felt bizarre hearing someone call Athrun 'Asu-chan'.

Athrun groaned and held a hand over his eyes. "She's Lacus's cousin who has been chasing 'Asu-chan' ever since middle school," Dearka explained.

I nodded slowly. "Ah.. great..." I said sarcastically as I felt a twinge of jealously.

Athrun shook his head. "No, not _great_. It's really embarassing to have a crowd of girls standing outside the academy calling you a pet name," he complained.

Dearka smirked. "Yeah, I'm really glad that I am not _you_," he commented.

Mir, Dearka and I all laughed full-heartily.Athrun sighed and shook his head again, but slower this time. We felt at ease for a moment there and it had seemed that it had all been a strange dream. We laughed until we felt our sides aching because it might have been our last chance to laugh like this. When we stopped, Athrun explained the situation and told us to prepare for it, for it would come very soon. I turned my head to Athrun. "How do you know so much?" I asked.

Athrun looked at me and grinned. "I used to watch the sky all the time when I was younger, so I could tell when something bad was approaching," he explained and soon enough, the winds started to blow fiercer.

It was getting colder, much much colder. Waves started to form. Little ones for now. We all huddled close together for warmth and Dearka complained. "It's _always_ too hot or too cold! Jeez! Make up your mind!"

Mir giggled slightly but gasped as rain fell on us. We all gasped and opened our mouths to the rain, drinking drop by drop. It was the sweetest thing I have ever tasted in my whole life when I thought it was stupid because I've never really tasted water. Water was just plain old water. But here, it meant a chance of survival and meant everything to us. It rained harder and harder while the wind blew. We were all soaked to the core and were all shivering. Then when I though matters couldn't get any worse, I heard a rumble in the sky. We all looked up and jumped as we heard thunder approach. I groaned. Not again! I was hoping againt hope that Athrun was wrong but it seemed that once again Athrun was right. Dearka groaned as well. "Athrun! Can't you ever be wrong?! I wouldn't mind if you were!" he yelled.

Athrun didn't answer as his face darkened. "This is bad..." he murmured as lightning approached as well.

I felt my fear go up another notch. We were all sitting ducks here in the middle of no where in the begining of a tropical storm. The wrath of the sea was very terrifying and we were completely soaked. And if by some chance the lightning should get us, we would all be electrocuted. I shivered as I shook that thought out of my head.

Why! Why did this have to happen?! We had already experienced one storm at sea and the results weren't pleasant at all! And that was when we were on an actual boat! Now we are on barely a raft! Athrun shook me out of my thoughts as he yelled out, "DON'T GET SEPARATED!"

He held onto the edge of the raft and held his hand out to me. I slowly moved up. It was really difficult to see through the drenching rain and the howling wind. I felt completely frozen but eventually managed to get under Athrun's arm. Dearka did the same to Mirillia and we were hanging there for dear life. The waves were little ones but they got bigger and way rougher. "HANG ON!" Dearka yelled through the storm, but I found it nearly impossible.

My fingers were completely numb and I felt Athrun's muscles straining as he held himself and me down to the raft. Athrun gritted his teeth. "Damnit!" I heard him swore beside me.

Even through all of this, I suddenly had an idea. I moved my right hand down to my side to unhook my knife. When I did so, I unsheathed it with a click and slowly lifted it up above my head. I slammed it down onto the raft so that Athrun didn't have to hold me down. I made sure it was deep into the raft and grabbed on with two hands. I eased myself out of Athrun's arm and he yelled, "Cagalli! What do you think you're doing?!"

I shouted back. "I'm okay! Don't worry!" and gripped hard.

Dearka and Mirillia weren't have much success either. Dearka had to use all of his strength to hold Mirillia down and I saw that he couldn't hold on for much longer. As the waves rocked us, he suddenly lost his hold onto Mirillia and she fell into the sea. "MIR!" I cried out and without hesitation, I let go of my knife and dived for her.

She was drowning as she couldn't swim. The ocean was rough and the wind didn't help either. It took me a while but I found he hand trashing in the water, trying to keep her afloat. I brought her to the surface. I heard someone call my name. I opened my eyes to see blurry things. But even through the storm I could see Athrun reaching his hand out for me. Dearka and Athrun had a human chain with Dearka gripping the knife and holding onto Athrun. "CAGALLI!" he yelled as he thrust his hand out.

I felt the waves seperate us slightly and kicked furiously to keep us afloat and to get back to the raft. There wasn't much distance between us and Athrun, but in these conditions, it seemed like it was impossible. I thrust out my hand as well, desperate to get out of the raging sea. But even so, I couldn't reach his hand. I felt Mirillia move and for a moment there, I couldn't see her. But I felt her grab my hand. "C-cagalli!" she cried out.

I felt myself being pulled and squinted through the storm to see that Mirillia was able to reach Athrun's hand by closing the distance between us. "DEARKA! PULL!" Athrun yelled at the top of his lungs and Dearka did.

I felt myself moving and kicked my legs furiously. Athrun clenched his teeth as he felt his arms go numb. With a cry, he gave an enormous pull and brought us back to the raft. We all landed gasping for air while Dearka kept a firm hold on Mirillia once more. We quickly got back in our original positions (AKA holding the edge of the raft) and held on.

As I looked ahead into the darkness, I saw a large shadowy shape ahead of us and stared. All of a sudden, without warning, one gigantic wave had risen behind us and sent us and our raft flying. We all cried out in surprise and horror as we were shot through the air. My world went black as we landed, not knowing our fate.

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**A/N: Well another cliffie! Lol... the next chapter will be quite interesting (I hope so anyway!) and you'll know who survived and who did not! Anyway, I'll update as soon as I can, okay?**


	8. Survivors

**A/N: Hi everyone! Longest chappie yet! Yeah.. I sorta lied about updating ASAP, but I hope y'all can forgive me. Being on the island will be a bit dull since there's not a whole lot to do, but I'll try my best to make things more exciting! Now for reading!**

** Disclaimer: Every AsuCaga fan would fix the ending for GSD and I included, so I don't own GS/GSD!  
**

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_As I looked ahead into the darkness, I saw a large shadowy shape ahead of us and stared. One gigantic wave rose behind us and sent us and our raft flying. We all cried out in surprise and horror as we were shot through the air. My world went black as we landed, not knowing our fate._

**Chapter 8: Survivors**

As I opened my eyes, I found myself laying on my back. _Where am I? Was I dead?_ Those words echoed through my mind. I felt that I was completely stiff. I recalled last night's (or was it even last night?) events and remembered the four of us being thrown into the air by a plunging wave. I looked around me and realised that I was surrounded by complete darkness. _Athrun? Dearka? Mir? _I thought as I looked around, seeing no one and nothing.

I felt scared as I stood there alone. Was I really dead? The place where I was now seemed nothing like heaven or hell. It was just darkness. I felt frustrated beyond myself. I was alone in the middle of no where with no one with me. I felt tears of frustration starting to fill my eyes. _I don't want to be alone!_ I screamed out mentally.

"You are not," whispered a male voice out of no where.

I turned around, suddenly alert and scared out of my mind. "W-who's there?" I demanded as I held up my hands to protect me if something came to attack.

A figure stepped out of the darkness and came into view. I stared. He seemed to be the same age as I was and only slightly taller. But the mysterious thing was that his face was still shadowed. "Don't be afraid, I will not harm you," the voice whispered.

Something about that voice calmed me down so I slowly dropped my arms but was still alert. "Who are you?" I demanded.

"You don't know?" the voice seemed quite sad.

I glared at the shadowy face as if I stared enough, I would be able to see something. The voice said nothing so I shook my head slowly. "N-no... I'm sorry. But would you answer something for me?" I asked.

"What is it?" the voice questionned.

I gulped and took a deep breath. "A-am I dead?" I whispered, hoping against hope that I wasn't, because I could still feel some pain in my throat after not drinking anything for the past few days.

"No.. but it is not good for you to stay here either. Go back..." the male voice whispered like a ghost.

I stared at him in confusion. "What? Go back? You mean to the others?" I demanded.

The dimmed figure nodded his head and I saw part of his chin. "How?" I asked again.

The teenaged boy frowned. "Listen," he said in that quiet voice of his.

I shut my mouth and listened, but I didn't hear anything at all. I howled in frustration. "What in the world am I supposed to listen for?" I demanded angrily as I thought that he was playing a game with me.

"Just listen," he repeated as his voice became much softer, if it was even possible.

I closed my eyes and focused on hearing something, anything. The few moments I tried, I heard nothing, but soon I began to hear a faint voice. Was it my imagination? I listened as hard as I could, trying to make out what that voice was saying. It got louder each time. "Cagalli..."

I cried out in surprise. Someone was calling me, but I quickly concertrated once more, trying to hear where the sound was coming from. "Cagalli...!"

The voice was near, but I still didn't know where it came from. The boy lifted his hand and snapped his fingers. I stared at him in surprise but gasped as I saw a portal at my side. "Go back..." the boy whispered.

"H-huh? What? How?" I asked, but the boy came closer.

"Go back..." his voice was so soft, like the wind.

"B-but wh-!" my sentence was never completed as the boy pushed me through the portal.

I yelled, "You jerk!!" and raised my arms.

Suddenly, without realizing it, I had uppercutted someone in the chin. Athrun staggered backwards holding his chin. "Dang it, Cagalli!" he said in pain.

I lowered my arms in surprise. "I'm back..." I whispered faintly.

It was true, everyone was beside me. Mirillia looked at me worryingly and Dearka smirked at Athrun who was still holding his chin, groaning. I looked around. "Where are we?" I questionned.

It seemed like land; we were on some sort of shore, because I was on sand. Mirillia hugged me. "Shhh... don't speak. Have some water," she said as she lifted what seemed like a coconut shell that was full of water.

Without hesitation, I drank it completely, asking for more. Mir got more and I drank greedily with a bit of water dribbling down my chin. When I stopped drinking, I panted. It seemed like forever since I last had something to drink. When I finished, I repeated my earlier question. Athrun seemed to have healed, because he was the one who answered my question. "It seems that we have landed on some island, because of that major storm," he replied.

I looked at the sky, surprised to see that the sky was clear without a cloud in sight. _Amazing.. I really am back. But who was that boy and why didn't he show his face to me? And why did he seem so sad when I said that I didn't know him? _Millions of questions popped into my mind until Dearka looked at me strangely. "Are you okay?" he asked.

I snapped back to reality and answered, "Yeah, I'm just so hungry that I don't have too much energy left," which was quite true.

Athrun scowled at me playfully. "Yeah right... my chin is bruised," he said teasingly.

I narrowed my eyes at him but then turned to Mir. "The problem is, where is _food?_" I asked.

Mir grinned and held her hand out to the tropical trees. "Just look around!" she said delightedly.

I did as she said and what laid before me amazed me; tons of coconuts and other exotic fruits hung from trees and some on the ground as well. "Wow!" I said happily.

Dearka took a coconut that had fallen and held it firmly in his hand. "Problem is, how do you get this thing to open?" he said.

Athrun rolled his eyes. "Do you know what a sea otter is, Dearka?" he questionned.

Dearka frowned at Athrun. "Of course I do! It's a furry animal that swims," he said.

Athrun sighed. "Well at least you got those points right. Any otter is particularly intelligent. They are the few animals that happen to use 'tools'. For example, to eat an oyster or a clam, an otter would take some sort of hard surface like a rock and bash it against it's prey to open it up. It'd be the same, no?" he explained wearily.

Dearka brightened. "Yeah, that would work!" he said as he started to whack the coconut against some rocks.

Surprisingly, it worked and the coconut split open, spilling a bit of coconut juice. I stared as my hunger demanded food. Dearka grinned and whacked another coconut open. He shared the coconut halves with us and we gobbled them down like a pack of starved wolves. First food in the past few days tasted like something I never tasted before. It was glorious! Soon the four of us began to crack open more stuff. I reached up for some more food that were entangled in the vines when I heard a strange hissing sound. My eyes widened in fear as I saw that what I had grabbed wasn't a vine at all; it was a snake. Everyone looked in my direction but froze. "Cagalli!" Athrun yelled, but I had not heard him.

Bright yellow eyes stared at me as he lunged opening his mouth so wide that I saw the entire thing. I was paralyed with fear as the snake was about to attack. I screamed as I held my arms up to protect me, shutting my eyes fiercely as if that would somehow decrease the pain I would feel. I heard a louder hiss in pain and slowly lowered my arms in surprise. The snake was pierced to the tree trunk with a familar knife; my knife. "W-wha..?" I said dumbly as Athrun quickly came over to inspect me to see if I was okay.

"Wow.. that was close!" said a male teenager voice that seemed familar.

Athrun, who was beside me, his eyes widen in surprise. "N-no... it can't be.." he whispered.

A head full of brown hair popped up along with a friendly face. "Long time no see, Athrun my friend!" he said cheerfully.

It was Kira. It seemed that he was survived as well as we. Dearka droppped the fruit he was holding and exclaimed happily, "Kira! You're alive!"

Kira laughed. "Yeah, but just barely. And it's not just me," he said as he pointed into the jungle.

We all froze in time as a few more people came out from the bushes. Yzak, Shiho, Lacus and- "TOLLE!" Mir screamed happily as she ran a records time to where we were.

However her face dropped as she saw that Tolle was unconcious and was on Yzak's back. "T-tolle?" she whispered.

Yzak and the others lowered their gaze. "He's alive, but he has been unconcious for the past few days," Shiho said quietly.

Yzak gently lowered Tolle down onto the sand next to Mirillia who held him close while weeping, for joy or for sadness, I couldn't tell. Then Yzak looked to Dearka who again said, "Yzak! So good to see yo-!" but didn't complete his sentence as Yzak whacked him hard on his head.

Dearka looked up at his friend and whimpered. "H-hey! What was that for?! It hurt!"

Yzak gave him a glare. "You idiot, words coming from your mouth seem to always come true," he said.

Dearka looked at him in confusion and then to surprise, remembering one of his first jokes he teased Yzak with on the Archangel saying that if Yzak did something unusual, the boat would sink, which was true. He shrugged uncimfortably and grinned sheepishly. "I-i didn't know that would happen, Yzak," he said quietly.

Yzak couldn't help but smile at his friend for being alive. "Don't let it bother you," he replied as the rest of us enjoyed our reunion.

I smiled. "So where's Heine and the others?" I asked.

Kira's and Lacus's smile faded as Shiho and Yzak exchanged glances. "Y-you mean he's not with you guys?" Shiho said quietly.

My smile faded as with the others as well. "H-he's not with you either?" I questionned as I felt something heavy inside.

Kira shook his head slowly and sadly while Lacus closed her baby blue eyes. Athrun lowered his eyes while it was all silent. We all felt the same pain. Even though we just met Heine, the captain and the cook a week ago, it still hurt to realize that someone you knew and came to like was gone.

To change the subject, Dearka spoke up. "So, did you guys take the lifeboat?" he asked.

Yzak smiled. "Yeah, it was Lacus who found it. Thanks to her, we were able to live for a bit," he said.

Athrun punched him playfully. "WE had nothing to eat or drink for the past few days so we are starved, you got anything left in there?" he asked.

Lacus shook her head. "No, we're sorry, that is the reason we were out here. We landed on this island about two days ago," she said apologetically.

"We just got here today, I think. The storm must have knocked us onto land," said Athrun.

Kira nodded. "Yeah, the storm was a big one! It must have been hard at sea! What did you survive on?" he asked.

Mirillia looked up from holding Tolle on her lap and pointed to our 'raft' that was in toothpicks. "That," she said.

Shiho looked amazed. "Wow.. we landed before the storm hit us, but we had no shelter other than the lifeboat, so the lifeboat is pretty much beatened up," she said as she pointed out into the jungle.

Athrun frowned in concertration. "How about you bring the lifeboat here? We can try to use the trees as shelter and if some sort of plane goes by, they might be able to see the lifeboat," he said. "Because we don't know if we're the only inhabitants here," he said.

Kira nodded. "Yeah, that sounds good. Yzak, Dearka, you and me will bring the lifeboat over. We'll be able to use that as shelter as well since it's quite roomy," he insisted as he lead the guys into the jungle and disappeared into the green scenery.

I pulled my knife away from the snake who fell motionless which told me that it was dead. I was amazed at Kira's accuracy. It had pierced the snake through its skull and died instantly. "Well... what should _we_ do?" I pondered outloud.

Shiho shrugged. "I don't know, but I don't think we should do nothing until the guys get back," she said with a thoughtful expression.

Then her face brightened somewhat. "How about you collect some fallen branches and stuff like that? I remember there was a lighter in the lifeboat and if it is still there, it would prove valuable to have a fire going," she said.

I nodded as I felt itchy. Bugs were swarming and I slapped myself to get rid of a whole bunch. "Yeah, and hopefully get rid of these annoying insects too," I muttered.

I looked at my knife. It was quite sharp but I highly doubted that it would be used as an axe, so I wiped it on the grass and then re-sheathed it to clip onto my capris. "Okay, hopefully there are some hatchets in the lifeboat," I murmured as I picked up a fallen branch and looked at it doubtfully.

Mir looked up at me. "What should Lacus and I do?" she asked as she held Tolle across her lap.

I looked down at Tolle who was still unconcious on her lap. "It's getting quite hot and Tolle looks injured. I suggest that you two move him into the shade of the trees to get him out of the sun," I said while Lacus nodded.

She frowned. "Cagalli's right. Tolle was injured. Back on the Archangel, while we were running, a rotten beam was about to fall on Kira, but Tolle pushed him out of the way, indangering himself. We were able to get the beam off Tolle, but Tolle has been unconcious since," she explained sadly.

Mir's chin wavered. "Oh Tolle..." she whispered as she carassed his cheek with her soft hands.

I looked sadly at the two of them but I was reminded that I had work to do, so Shiho and I collected bits of wood from the ground for a fire. "We'll need a lot to keep the fire going," I said.

Shiho nodded. "Yeah, I know. But maybe we could also use the remains of your raft?" she said.

I looked over to see that she was right. Even though the raft was in bits and could not be used for shelter, some planks of wood were still available to use for a fire. I went over and collected them up and then placed them in a pile beside Lacus and Mir. I wiped my forehead as I felt my arms moisten. It was really hot and the sun was up quite high in the sky. "Phew! You think we have enough?" I asked Lacus.

Lacus shrugged. "Looks good to me, but I suggest that we get more, just in case," she suggested.

Shiho nodded. "Lacus is right, we should get more," she said and we went to find more sources of wood.

By the time we came back with two armfuls of branches and wood, Kira and the others were back with the lifeboat. The lifeboat was quite wrecked and tattered, but it would nevertheless be a good shelter for us. Athrun and the guys all collasped onto the sand and dirt gasping. "J-jeez, that was heavy!" Dearka complained.

Lacus went over to Kira and helped him up. Kira smiled gently at her. "Th-hanks Lacus," he said gratefully.

Lacus smiled kindly. "No problem," she said.

Shiho and I also went over to help. Shiho went over to inspect the lifeboat's supplies and grinned. "AHA! I knew there was a lighter!" she said victoriously.

I laughed as I also went over to see what they had left. There were a small mirror, a can of oil/gas mixture, a nearly-empty gallon can of water, 20 square feet of opaque plastic, a box of chocolate bars, a fishing kit, a bit of nylon rope, shark repellent, ½ gallon of 160-proof rum and a sextant. "Wow! You guys are rich compared to us!" I exclaimed.

Athrun made his way over to my side. He smirked. "Yah.. we had nothing!" he grinned.

Yzak shrugged. "We had more, but lost most of it when the lifeboat flipped over when we released it off the Archangel. I'm guessing that we had more navagational tools because there is a sextant there, but it's useless without the other stuff," he said.

Dearka looked into the lifeboat and grabbed out a strange object. "What is this?" he questionned.

"That's a seawater pump. You can take sea-water into it and it'll pump out the salt in it, making it drinkable. However, it takes about an hour to purify the saltwater," Kira explained.

I exchanged glances with Athrun and I was sure that he was thinking the same thing as me. **WE** had nothing except our clothing, a 'raft' that used to the a room wall and my knife for about 4 days! Talk about unfortunate! While these guys had water, food and everything! Lacus puilled out the plastic. "This can be used to make a shelter and it'll be able to collect some rainwater as well," she said.

Shiho nodded and held up the coiled rope. "Yeah, and we can use this to hold the plastic in place. The only problem is what we can hold the plastic up with," she said.

We all looked around and I looked into the jungle, seeing two trees quite close by. "There!" I pointed.

Everyone looked. "Someone can climb up that tree holding one end while another person can climb up the other holding the other end. We can cut the rope with my knife and then tie the plastic into place," I said.

Athrun nodded. "Yeah, that will work," he said as he stood up. "C'mon, Kira. We can climb pretty well,"

Kira grinned, remembering his childhood days spent with Athrun. They had climbed many things including the tops of their houses, trees and other stuff. "Alright," he said as he took the plastic with him.

Shiho and I quickly cut the nylon rope into thirds and then I handed my knife to Athrun. "You'll need to hold the plastic in place with this while you tie the rope into place," I said as I wrapped the rope around his waist.

He nodded. "Okay," he said as he looked over to Kira. "Ready?" he asked.

Kira nodded and placed the end of the plastic into his mouth. Athrun tossed his jacket onto the ground and they both shinnied up the tree with amazing speed while the rest of us looked up in amazement. They made it up to the nearest branch that was at the similar level with the other tree and held onto the plastic firmly with their hands. Athrun unhooked my knife and then drove it into the branch and the plastic holding it in place. Then he quickly took the rope that I had wrapped around his waist. "Here goes nothing," he murmured.

He wrapped the rope around the branch and the plastic several times and then tying a secure knot. Athrun then took my knife out of the tree but suddenly lost his balance as he did so. He wobbled as he tried to maintain his balance on the branch. "Athrun!" we yelled as he fell off the branch.

But luckily, he was a coordinator and was able to grab onto the branch with one arm. "Athrun! You okay?" Kira called out from the other tree.

Athrun gripped the branch and then swung himself back onto it, panting hard. "Y-yeah.. I am now.." He said.

I sighed in relief as I was afraid that he would fall and break his neck. Kira smiled at his friend as he quickly tied the plastic to the branch with the same methods that Athrun used and then the both of the climbed down. We all greeted them as they got down. I was about to call out Athrun's name, but Lacus got there before me. "Athrun! That was great! Are you okay?" Lacus questionned as she held his arm, inspecting him for injuries.

Athrun smiled. "Nah, I'm fine. Just lost my balance," he said, smiling tenderly at Lacus.

I stood there as I felt my eyes turn away from the two in envy. Why did I feel this? Why should it matter to me whether he was gentle to Lacus or not? I didn't know the answer so I ran over to Mirillia. "Hey Mir! We got our shelter up!" I called as she smiled at me.

"That's great! We can get Tolle under there!" she shouted.

Dearka and Yzak came over to help as we gently carried Tolle to the 'shelter'. We laid him once again on Mirillia's lap. Shiho and I carried our wood with the help of Lacus, Kira and Athrun to the shelter and then placed them gently into a pile near it. We rounded up all the falled fruit that we could find and before we knew it, the sun went down. It began to get darker so we all agreed to get the fire going. I added a few bits of grass before lighting it with the lighter. A small spark came out and landed onto the nest but soon went out. "Here, let me try," said Athrun.

I frowned at him. "No! I got it," I insisted as I tried once more but only to end in failure.

There wasn't enough sparks when I tried to do so. "You see? Pass me the lighter, Cagalli," said Athrun.

I glared at him. "No! I can do this!" I said determindly.

Kira and Lacus smiled at each other as they exchanged glances behind me. On my third try, nothing at all happened. I cried out in frustration. Athrun laughed and placed his hand over my small hand. He flicked it to get some light and then placed the lighter to the nest, getting a small flame. I blushed as I felt his hand still holding mine. Noticing it, Athrun blushed slightly and released my hand. "W-well, that is how you light it," he murmured.

I said nothing as I watched Lacus and Kira blow gently onto the nest of fire to get it to grow. In no time, our baby fire grew to be a big one. The fire illuminated the darkness and to our surprise, the insects also went away. We had our dinner which seemed quite light compared to the gorgeous meals that the cook aboard the Archangel made but it was the first meal we had together since then. As soon as we finished, Mirillia yawned. "I-i'm tired..." she said.

I nodded. I also felt fatigued after this long day. "Yeah, we should get some sleep. But don't forget, we should also keep watch in case something attacks us or if some plane happens to go by," I said. "I'll take the first watch,"

Everyone agreed and went under the shelter to sleep. I sat next the the fire and stared into the heart of it. I lost myself as I watched the fire dance in front of me. I didn't feel the heat as I stared at it. It was beautiful and intense at the same time. Memories of the past filled my head. A house that was completely ablaze and a young girl screaming for her parents. It was painful as I watched the scene in front of me and I felt that I couldn't get away. Everything was on fire and it wouldn't die down while the screaming got louder. "Mama! Papa!"

A girl with short brown hair that was about the age of six or seven ran towards the flaming house until another girl of the similar age with shoulder-length blonde hair held her back. "No Mir! Don't!"

I recognized the voice to be my own while holding Mirillia back. She was sobbing as she buried her face into her hands while I hugged her with hurt feelings as well. I knew what it was like to lose someone; someone who was extremely close. Her pain was my pain. It hurt a lot. But I couldn't escape. I couldn't go back to reality. I was trapped until I heard someone call out my name sharply. "Cagalli!

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**A/N: I also apologize for the number of cliffies!!! But I'll try to avoid one. ;p Any ideas or suggestions for this fic? It would make things run a lot smoother and fast! Plz and thanks**  



	9. How to Catch a Fish

**A/N: Hey everyone! Thanks for the past reviews! They were quite amusing to read and I felt quite inspired, lol! I'm planning to get Cagalli more familar with the other people other than just Athrun and Mir so I'll let everyone have a small turn in the spotlight. Anyway, don't let me keep you from reading!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own GS/GSD! X(  
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**_Previously: _**  
_I recognized the voice to be my own while holding Mirillia back. She was sobbing as she buried her face into her hands while I hugged her with hurt feelings as well. I knew what it was like to lose someone; someone who was extremely close. Her pain was my pain. It hurt a lot. But I couldn't escape. I couldn't go back to reality. I was trapped until I heard someone call out my name sharply. "Cagalli!_

**Chapter 9: How To Catch a Fish**

I turned around in surprise as I felt my heart trying to slow down from its accelerated pace. My golden eyes met emerald ones. He looked at me in concern. "You okay?" he asked worriedly.

I narrowed my eyes and looked out to sea. "Fine," I murmured and then turned. "What did you want?" I demanded.

Athrun blinked as he held his hands out as if to protect him from me. "Whoa! I show a little concern and you snap at me?" he said.

I sighed. "Sorry, I just felt wierd.." I said quietly, barely a whisper.

But with his supreme hearing, Athrun heard everything I said. However, he didn't press it. That was what I liked about this guy. He always wanted to ask something, but never did and kept his trap shut. He shrugged. "Doesn't matter, as long as you are okay. Anyway, I forgot to return this to you," he said, holding out my knife in its green sheath.

I blinked in surprise. "Oh!" I said as I took it from him.

It seemed that I always forget it somewhere, but it was always returned to me for a reason. I was so careless. I clipped it to my capris and looked at Athrun who looked calmly out to sea. "So.. why aren't you asleep? Aren't you tired?" I questionned.

Athrun shrugged as he grinned that familar grin of his. "Heh... I am exhausted, but I can't fall asleep no matter what I do. I'll give you some company if you like," he said.

"Whatever," was all I said as I felt the fire heat my cheeks.

We sat there in uncomfortable silence as we stared out to sea. I closed my eyes painfully as I thought of those who had lost their lives. Kisaka, the cook and Heine as well. They all had a future, but it was their destiny to lose it. I sighed sadly. Athrun looked over with a small frown. "May I ask by any chance if you were thinking about Heine and the others?" he asked quietly.

I reared back and looked at him in surprise and in amazement. "How did you guess?!" I demanded.

Athrun chuckled slightly but regained his sad frown. "I could tell by your eyes that you were thinking of something sad so I took a wild guess," he swallowed. "But, there might be a chance that they could have escaped and we don't know it," he said quietly.

I shut my eyes fiercely as I shook my head. I bit my lower lip. There had been something that had been bugging me for the past few days since the accident on the Archangel. When I had told Mirillia that I would look for Tolle, I had accidentally stumbed upon something that had been haunting me ever since. I had stumbled onto a dead body. A body that had been buried underneath a falling beam. The face was completely covered in blood and his eyes stared out at me as if crying for help even though he was no longer alive. I had stumbled onto Heine's body. I didn't want to believe that this friendly boy was dead and believed it was all an illusion so I had tried to keep the thought farthest from my mind. But I could no longer keep it by myself. "That is not true... Athrun," I whispered, deathly quiet.

Athrun paled as he saw how close to tears I was. "W-what?" he stammered.

I blinked a few times. "H-heine's definitely dead... I saw his body..." I whispered as I felt tears threaten.

Athrun stared at me in shock. "I didn't see him though.." he said as he stared to breathe heavily.

I lowered my head. "I-i ran into another room before you could because I didn't want you to see his face... his face that looked as if h-he was screaming out for help," my shoulders shook.

All of a sudden, completely unexpected, Athrun reached over and held me close. It was so sudden that I had not been expecting it. I could feel his warmth and his beating heart. He rested his chin ontop of my head as he whispered words to calm me down. "I-it is okay... there was nothing you could have done," he said barely above a whisper.

I shook my head within his arms but said nothing and did not cry. No matter how much I felt like I would cry, I did not dare to. I allowed him to hold me for it was the first time I felt so safe within the past 10 years. I closed my eyes for a moment, but when I woke I was no longer on the beach; I was back underneath the shelter. I sat up immediately to see that the sun had long risen and was also the only one that was still lying on my back. Everyone had already gotten up and I felt frustrated that no one had woken me up. I looked around to see that everyone was gone except for Mirillia who looked after the still unconcious Tolle. "Mir?" I said as I went over.

Mirillia smiled at me. "Good morning Cagalli. I trust you slept well?" she said cheerfully as she placed a wet cloth ontop of Tolle's forehead.

I frowned slightly. "Why didn't anyone wake me up?" I demanded.

Mirillia smiled apologetically. "Well you were sleeping so peacefully and I never saw you sleep that well before so we all agreed to let you sleep until you woke," she explained.

I groaned as I stretched my aching body, amazed that I could sleep with that. "Well where is everyone?" I asked.

Mirillia turned her head towards the jungle. "They went off to check out this place to make sure if we are really the only ones here," she said.

I nodded slowly. "Okay, I'll check it out as well," I said as I unclipped my knife to use for my protection if I needed it.

I ran off into the jungle before Mirillia could refuse. As I slowed down to a walk, I could see that definitely no one lived here. Well people that is. Many vines hung above and were a bit irritation. The insects bothered me as well but I ignored them, well I tried to anyway. There were no pathways so I did a small X mark on every other tree I passed to make sure that I didn't get lost. I stopped for a moment, admiring the small path I was able to make. Of course my legs were all muddy and scraped. My clothes were no better. My capris were stained with grass and dirt while my red t-shirt was filthy. I continued on but stopped as soon as I heard a yell. I blinked. It was a female voice yet it couldn't have been Lacus's angelic voice and Mir was back at the shelter, so it had to be Shiho's. "Hold on!" I murmured as I ran through the jungle going in the direction where I heard the sound.

I panted heavily as I held up my arms to prevent the vines from whipping my face. "Someone help!" the sound was louder.

I ran through the bushes and nearly stumbled into the sight that was in front of me. However I maintained my balance as I looked on in horror as I saw Shiho was stuck in some sort of sandy patch. I realized that it was quicksand! "Hold on!" I yelled as I frantically looked around for something to pull her in with.

There was nothing except for trees and more trees... That's it! I quickly went over to a tree and broke off a thin but strong branch. I laid onto my stomach as I stretched out to give the branch to Shiho who's waist was completely submerged. "Here! Grab on!" I yelled.

Shiho nodded and without hesitation reached out. Unfortunately to my frustration, the branch was not long enough. She was also sinking faster and faster. I reached out once more but no luck! I only needed another inch or so, but there was nothing longer than this. I suddenly had an idea, but it was also quite risky. I gulped as I took two steps into the trap. I gasped as I felt my feet being pulled down. I thrust out the branch to Shiho who stared at me in horror, but took the branch and gripped it hard. "Hold on!" I yelled once more as I gave the branch a strong pull.

It dragged Shiho a few inches closer but still not good enough. By now the sand covered her stomach and she was still sinking. The sand was up to my knees as I tried moving my feet to no prevail. I gave the branch another strong pull as I dragged Shiho closer and closer. I panted heavily as I wished I had more strength. The sand was consuming us faster and faster. Shiho had raised her arms high above her head and the sand was nearly up to her shoulders while the sand was up to my waist. I couldn't move anything that was under the sand and I yelled out in frustration. We couldn't die here, not like this. And DEFINITELY not after all we've been through. As I felt tears stinging, a strong hand suddenly reached out and grabbed my own. "Don't give up just yet, Cagalli!" a familar male voice called out.

I gasped as I looked behind me to see chocolate brown unruly hair and intelligent violet eyes. As he gave my hand a yank, Kira brought me about an inch from land and Shiho was less than a meter away. Kira helped me back onto land by holding onto my free hand while I used the other to pull Shiho to land as well. The three of us collasped onto land, panting and gasping heavily. That was WAY too close of a call. A few more minutes and... I shivered thinking about it. Suddenly we heard leaves rustle and we were all on alert. But relaxed as we saw that Athrun, Dearka, Yzak and Lacus popped out, who all looked quite out of breath and a bit bewildered. "W-we heard someone cry out for help.. A-are you all okay?" Athrun asked worriedly.

I gave a small smile. "Heh.. we are now, thanks to Kira!" I said as I breathed easier.

Kira smiled with an embarassed look on his face. "You were already doing fine, Cagalli... but I gave you an extra hand just in case you needed it," he said.

Lacus helped Shiho up, who looked very embarassed as well. "W-well... I tripped by accident over there and fell feet first into the quicksand before I realised what had happened," she explained with her face quite red as a tomato.

Shiho pointed in the direction where she tripped and I saw that there was a root that was just sticking out of the ground. "Well at least you're okay, that's all that matters," Yzak said briefly.

We all looked at the platinum haired boy in surprise and Yzak turned bright crimson. "T-i mean that it was foolish of you to have gone out on your own!" he said quickly as he turned his face away.

Shiho went over to Yzak and gave him an apologetic smile. "I know and I'm sorry," she said softly.

Yzak, if possible, turned even redder and turned towards the direction I came. "W-whatever! Let's get back, I'm hungry!" he growled and we all agreed for none of us had breakfast.

I hid a smile as I watched Shiho and Yzak walk together. They looked quite nice together whether they would admit it or not. Yzak only opened up to two people as far as I knew him and those two were Dearka, his best friend and Shiho, who might be something more. Along the way, we looked for a bit of fruit to eat and I spotted something high up that looked like a banana! "Hey look up there!" I called out and everyone looked up at the object I pointed to.

Dearka squinted. "Looks like food," he said hungrily.

I nodded. "Yeah, I'm going to climb up and get it," I said.

Athrun turned his head towards me. "Are you sure? I can do that for you, if you want," he offered.

I shook my head at his offer. "Nah, you coordinators have done enough, I want to show you what a Natural such as I can do," I said.

Kira nodded and smile for he understood me. "Alright, just don't fall," he said teasingly.

I smiled at him through my narrowed eyes. "No way I will," I said and I unhooked my knife to place it into my mouth.

I placed one of my sneakers onto the hard thick trunk and gripped the sides of the tree as I started my way up. I was a pretty good climber and I wasn't afraid of heights. I made my way slowly, but accurately up higher to the fruit. As I got closer, I saw that it wasn't a pile of bananas, but still seemed to be fruit. I held tightly onto the trunk as I placed my right foot onto the branch to test its strength and then slowly released my hands and gripped the branch. I knew I had to be careful because there are no second chances in survival. I made my way along the branch and reached the pile of 'immitation bananas'. I wrapped my legs around the branch and took my knife out of my mouth to cut the 'bananas' down. I heard cheering below and I smiled. I slowly made my way back to the trunk and started to descend. However, it was a lot harder because I had a pile of bananas in my arms. "Hey! I'm gonna throw them!" I yelled out.

I heard silence for a moment before someone came at the base of the trunk. "Don't throw it! Just drop it! I'll catch it!" I heard Athrun reply.

I nodded and I just merely dropped the bunch of bananas. When I looked down, as promised, Athrun was able to catch them before they reached the ground. I grinned as I made my way down faster. But unfortuately, one of my sneakers slipped and I felt myself falling down the trunk. I heard my name being called out with worry. Without hesitation, I pulled out my knife and dug it into the tree, slowing my fall. Even though it made a great big slash mark on the trunk, I was not injured at all. When I was close enough to the ground, I jumped down landing with a thud. Everyone ran to me checking if I was okay. "I told you not to fall," Kira said.

I frowned at him. "I did notfall! I-i merely slipped," I insisted.

Kira grinned. "Yeah huh... but next time, do be more careful," he said as I saw worry on his face.

I nodded but turned to Athrun who held the bananas in his arms. "Anyway, up close, I saw that these aren't our regular bananas... what are these?" I questionned.

Lacus took a look and frowned thoughtfully. "I think these are called plaintain..." she said.

"Plaintain?" we all asked in confusion.

Lacus nodded. "Yeah, they're like bananas, well actually they're in the same family but depending on the season, they might need to be cooked," she said.

I ripped off a piece. "Does this need to be cooked?" I asked.

Lacus examined it. "Hmm... I don't think so.. it looks ripe enough, but you never know," she said.

When we all looked at her in surprise, she smiled embarassedly. "I once did a project on tropical fruits in school," she said.

Kira nodded. "Okay, well let's get these back to Mir and Tolle. Then we can get another fire started. There should also be a few fruits left near the shelter as well," he said.

We all nodded and returned back to the shelter. As soon as we got there, we were given a big surprise. "H-hey guys..." said a voice weakly.

My eyes widened. "Tolle! You're okay!" I said delightedly.

Mirillia smiled as she wiped tears of joy out of her eyes. "Yes, he's quite weak and he has a slight fever, but nevertheless, he is concious," she said happily.

"You must be hungry after being unconcious all those days," Kira said as Tolle nodded slightly. "We'll get you some stuff to eat. However, they're nothing like roasted steak or burgers, mind you," he said.

Lacus and Kira got the water pump started while the rest of us started a small fire to prepare the plaintain. "Are we supposed to peel these before roasting it, or not?" I wondered out loud.

Athrun made a face. "I can't believe we have to cook bananas..." he groaned. "But, I think we should peel them first or else well have to peel off roasted banana skin," he added.

So I did as he said and peeled off the skin on one piece and held it over the fire. Athrun looked at me and shook his head. "What?!" I demanded as I saw him looking at me with an amused expression on his face.

"You're going to roast your fingers as well if you do that. Here, use this," he said as he handed over a small branch.

I looked away in embarassement. "I-i knew that," I muttered as I took the branch and stuck the plaintain onto it.

After holding it over the fire, it was ready to eat and we all found it quite tasty, especially Tolle who didn't eat for about a week. However, there were nine of us and soon the fruit ran out. Dearka groaned. "This survival thing sucks if we have to keep searching for food," he complained.

Yzak whacked him on the head. "That is why it is called SURVIVAL, you dumbass! If you don't look for a way to live, then it is not survival!" he said.

Dearka grumbled as he massaged his head. I laughed and I felt a pair of eyes inspecting me. I looked over and met Kira's eyes who were looking at me up and down. I gave him a questionning look. "I think you and Shiho should go into the water to wash up for a bit, afterall, you are covered in sand and it wouldn't be a good idea to have sand sticking to you," Kira suggested. "While the rest of us should go find as much food as possible because since there are nine of us and we're having about 3 meals a day, we'll need a lot of food!"

I looked at Shiho who nodded in agreement. "Okay," she said and everyone took off in their separate ways.

I splashed Shiho with water and we soaked ourselves in delight. The tropical sun was extremely hot and we were grateful to be given a chance to cool ourselves down. Shiho and I were up to our waists in the water. She looked down. "I felt something move beside me," she said.

I looked down as well and I felt what she said. It felt slippery and scaly and I knew it must be a fish or something. "Maybe we could catch it for lunch?" I suggested.

Shiho nodded. "Everyone would be happy to hear that," she said and I looked down to see a small silvery fish.

I thrust my hand into the water and tried to grab it but the fish slipped out of my hands and went between my legs while I chased after it, in the knee-deep water. I eventually lost my balance and soaked myself completely while groaning in frustration. "Agh! I lost to a freaking fish!" I complained.

Shiho grinned. "I don't think it is that simple. If I remember correctly from a while back, light makes the fish seem slightly higher than it actually is, isn't that correct?" she said.

I sighed. I had forgotten that. But then again, I always found science really boring so I didn't really pay much attention. "Okay, I'll try aiming deeper," I said as I waited for my moment to strike.

I saw a flash of silver and I striked once more. Getting closer, but the fish once again slipped out of my grasp. Shiho frowned thoughtfully as I missed once more. "Hmm... maybe we're going at this the wrong way...?" she said.

I looked at her quizzically. "What do you have in mind?"I asked as I saw a plan brewing inside her mind.

Shiho shrugged. "I'm not sure if this will work really, but let's give it a shot: How about I try to lure the fish to you and then you scoop the fish up, throwing it into the air. Then we try and keep it in the air as long as possible..." she hesistated before finishing her sentence. "..U-until the fish stops moving," she said quietly.

I nodded. "It may seem a little cruel, afterall before, I never really gave a thought to where my food came from. Whenever I was hungry, I would just go take out some fast food. But now, we need everything that will give us a chance to survive," I replied. "Are you ready?"

Shiho nodded as well. "Yeah, I'm ready. I wait for the fish to circle around again," she said as she eyed the silvery pattern that swam around her ankles.

I got ready as well for as soon as Shiho moved, I would have to take action as well. I saw the muscles tense in Shiho's arm and I was alert. Shiho thrust her hand into the water, scaring the fish from her and into my direction. "Now!" she called out.

I needed no other openings. I quickly put my hands under and then with as much force as I could muster, I was able to fling the fish into the air. Splish! The fish flew into the air as it began to struggle. I quickly went forwards to catch it into my palms and held on tightly by the tail as the fish struggled to get free. It took a while but the fish eventually stopped moving and I sighed in relief. My arms were begining to become numb and I doubted that I would be able to hold it for much longer. Shiho grinned. "Yes! We caught lunch! Even though the fish isn't really all that big especially between the nine of us, but I'm still really glad that we caught something!" she said delightedly.

I grinned as well for I felt we had accomplished something. It felt like being the top of the class and having the teacher praise you. "Yeah, it feels good! Now let's get back to the others!" I said as we both headed to back to the beach with a bit of pride

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**A/N: There we have it! I apologize to any Heine fans out there for killing him off but I decided that everyone who died in the series would also die here in this fic. Hint hint. Anyway, I also apologize for any grammatical errors that I missed and hope you all will look forward to the next chappie! **


	10. A Hole in my Heart

**A/N: Hey everyone, I finally got the tenth chapter up. A little depressing maybe, but I hope you'll still continue to read this fic!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anyone or anything from GS/GSD **

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**Chapter 10: A hole in my Heart**

The others were really pleased with our catch and decided that we didn't need to just live only on fruits and vegetables. "I wish we had a bow and arrow; I'm quite skilled with archery," I said.

Kira shrugged. "We'll we can always try and make some tools. That would make things a lot easier for us," he had said as he and the others had gotten back with bits of food.

So now here I am with a piece of branch that was quite bendy. Making a bow shouldn't be too hard, right? WRONG! I had took a piece of nylon rope that we had and tried to bend the branch to get the rope to be tied on. When I had tried, the first time, the branch snapped. So I had to find another. The second time, the branch bounced away from my grip as I accidentally released it and I had to go after it, which was stupid. Now this was my third and hopefully last try! I bent the branch firmly as I tied the rope to both ends which eventually looked like a D. I grinned as I successfully did it and then I went off to find a narrow branch to act like an arrow. I held my fingers in place and I pulled the rope back. Unfortuantely this branch wasn't strong enough either. It snapped in half as soon as I tugged the rope and I groaned again. "JEEZ!!!" I said under my breath.

I heard soft chuckling and I didn't need to turn around to see who it was. "Go away, Athrun!" I muttered.

Athrun grinned playfully as he walked over to my side. He crouched down and inspected the two broken bits of wood. "Hmmm... I think this is too thin, but the length is quite good," he said thoughtfully.

I scowled at him. "I know that!" I muttered as I brushed off the dirt off my capris and stood up.

"Well then, want some help? I currently have nothing to do," he said with the same grin across his face.

I sighed. This guy in front of me could be quite annoying at times. "Okay," I said exasperatedly.

So we went searching for more branches that we could use. I was walking slowly while thinking about a lot of things had happened. I kept walking until out of nowhere someone jumped down in front of me. "BOO!"

I jumped back and stared at the person in front of me who was laughing hysterically. "Why you-!" I said angrily with a tint of red of embarassement creeping across my face.

Athrun grinned ear to ear. "Sorry about that! You were kinda spaced out. What were you thinking about?" he asked.

I shrugged as I walked on. "Nothing really... I just found it kinda ironic that all of this happened because of a few storms," I said quietly.

Athrun remained silent as he waited for me to say more. "The first storm started all of this. And we nearly died because of it. Then a second storm happened, which maybe saved us from suffering at the hands of the sea," I said softly.

Athrun nodded. "True. But maybe this was meant to happen. I may be wrong for saying this, afterall the tragedies we had, but I'm glad that I got a chance to meet you," he said seriously.

I blinked as I felt my face burn. But it all went away as I saw a grin on his face. "Because I never met someone who was so easy to tease!" he snickered.

My face was red once more, but this time, I was not blushing. I was angry, very angry. "ATHRUN ZALA! I'm going to KILL you!" I yelled as I ran after a laughing boy.

Meanwhile Dearka and the others stared into the forest in surprise. "Wow... sounds interesting huh...?" Dearka commented.

Mirillia laughed while Yzak replied, "Oh yeah, Asu-chan will get his head ripped off for sure,"

Even though I hate to admit it, chasing a coordinator around is very tiring. I fell to my knees panting heavily. Athrun looked back on me grinning tiredly. "Tired already?" he said.

I glared at him and saw that he was breathing slightly faster than his regular breathing pattern. Wait a minute! How and why would I recognize his breathing pattern?! Could it be-? I shook my head furiously. Nah, it couldn't be... "No way!" I panted.

Athrun kept his grin as he came over and patted my head. "Come on, let's continue our search for a suitable branch for your bow," he said.

I scowled at him but I gave an invisible smile. Athrun reminded me of my desceased twin in a way. "Alright, coming!" I shouted after him.

Athrun smiled back at me. "Y'know, you seemd quite troubled these days, if you ever need someone to talk to, you can talk to me," he said softly.

I blinked as a slight tint of red creeped across my face. "U-uh thanks, I'll d-do that," I stammered.

We continued to gather some branches and I looked up at the blazing tropical sun. This really seemed like a jungle safari. Birds were chirping and the insects- Oh the annoying insects! My legs were badly bitten and they itched like tomorrow. I scowled and wished I had some insect repellant. I looked down at the ground and saw a branch that looked sturdy enough for my bow. I held it up to Athrun. "Hey! How about this one?" I suggested.

Athrun turned around and took the branch. He bent it slightly a few times before nodding. "Yeah, this will do. Now, let's get back," he said.

We went back and this time with the help of Athrun, I finally made a good bow. It wasn't perfect, mind you, but it was the first bow I've ever made and I felt happy. "Now... all we need are some arrows," I murmured as I looked around.

Athrun shrugged. "Well we could use some of the branches and then look for some sharp stones. Then we could heat the stones in the fire making them hard and cool. After that, we could attach them somehow to the branches," he said.

I nodded but decided to do it later because the sun was high up in the sky and it was blazing hot in the tropical islands. "I'll gonna go cool myself down," Athrun said as he headed towards the water.

"Okay, I'm gonna go back under the shelther," I said and went over to Mir and Tolle.

Mirillia smiled as I came over. "Hey Cagalli, would you look after Tolle for a bit. I haven't really done anything and you and the others have been doing everything," she said apologetically.

I shrugged and returned her smile. I understood what she meant. You see, Mirillia wasn't the type that would feel okay letting the others do all the work. "Okay, I'll look after him," I said and Mir shot me a thankful grin.

She went off into the jungle, to find food, I presume. I looked down at the boy in front of me, who was perspiring quickly. "Tolle, you okay?" I asked as I felt his forehead.

I pulled back my hand in alarm as I felt that it was on fire. Tolle panted and gave me a small, tired smile. "Heh.. I-i'm okay.. though I can't move my body at all..." he whispered.

I frowned visibly. Tolle had risked his life for Kira when he pushed Kira out of the way from a falling beam and must have injured his spinal cord. "Well, do you want anything to drink or eat? I can get it for you," I offered.

Tolle gave me a small smile. "Nah... B-but perhaps you could bring me a cold cloth?" he asked.

I nodded and took the piece of cloth that Mir had ripped from her pant leg and soaked it with water. Then I went back to Tolle and laid it on his forehead. Tolle looked up at me and breathed heavily. "C-cagalli... will I be okay?" he asked in a small whisper.

I looked at him surprised. Tolle was usually quite cocky and was confident in himself, but at this moment, it seemed as if he was a small child asking his mother if he would get better. I swallowed painfully. Truthfully, I wasn't sure if he would be okay. His body was badly burned from what I had heard and he could no longer move any of his limbs. Tolle was really weak and needed a hospital fast! However, I knew he had to have some confidence in himself. I managed a weak smile. "Y-yeah, you'll be okay," I stammered.

Tolle smiled, but it was a sad one. "Really... I won't be, would I?" he whispered.

I shook my head furiously. I would not stand the thought of losing Tolle. He, I and Mirillia had been friends ever since elementary school and felt like he was part of my family. Furthermore, if he was gone, Mirillia would be torn to shreds. "Be confident and don't talk so much. You need to focus on getting better and get some more sleep," I said.

Tolle gave a small nod and closed his eyes. As soon as I was sure that he was fast asleep, I frowned. Tolle had to survive, he just have to! I took the cloth and wiped his face gently. He suffered during the heat of the day, but was always slightly better with the coolness of the night. Suddenly some objects fell into a pile in front of me. I stared, it was a pile of sticks and stones. Then I looked up to meet emerald orbs. "You said you needed materials to make an arrow right? Well I got some stuff that we may be able to use," said Athrun as he sat down next to me.

I nodded and started to shape the branches more into arrows. By the time we got at least one arrow done, it was nearly sunset. "Let's test it out," Athrun said as he got up.

I took the bow and the arrow and pulled the string back slightly. Then I released the string, sending the arrow whizzing past and hitting a tree. It wasn't the best, and the arrow was slightly off course, but I felt quite happy. Athrun frowned as he retrieved it. "Hmmm... the target was off. And there wasn't any wind, so what went wrong?" he murmured.

I was slightly puzzled as well. Then realization struck me. "Hey Athrun!" I called out.

Athrun turned his head towards me. "Yeah? What is it?" he asked.

"Would feathers make a difference in the flight?" I asked.

Athrun took the thought and pondered. "Possibly. But I doubt we'll find any feathers right at this moment since light is disappearing, but we'll look for some tomorrow, okay?" he decided.

I nodded. "Alright, sounds good. Anyway, we should get the fire going," I said as I went over to take the lighter.

Dinner was plain as usual and we had no more meat. We had finished the fish for lunch so all we had for dinner was some fruit. Shiho sighed. "I think we should have more varity. Tomorrow, we should go look for some source of meat. I hear there are plenty of birds here on this island. Maybe we could roast some," she said.

Everyone agreed. The only one who didn't eat was Tolle, and I felt that in his condition, I wouldn't have eaten either. Once we all cleaned up and sat down by the fire, Yzak yawned. "So who's going to take first watch?" he asked sleepily.

I looked back and forth. We were all quite tired after today's events. "I'll do it," Mir piped up.

We all looked at her with surprise. "Really?" I questionned.

Mir nodded. "Yeah, you're all quite tired and I haven't really done much so this is the least I can do," she said.

I looked to the others and then back to her. I supressed a yawn. "Well okay," I said and we all crawled underneath the shelter to get some rest.

However, before sleeping, I opened one eye to see Mirillia sittting alone by the fire, feeding it small pieces of wood. Then I looked beside Dearka to see Tolle sleeping somewhat easier than earlier. He stillhad his fever but seemed to be in less pain. My last thought before falling asleep was that I wished for Tolle's health to get better.

* * *

As morning came, the sun's rays went through my eyelids and I blinked several times before sitting up. I rubbed my eyes sleepily and looked around. Everyone was still asleep. I yawned and stood up. When I looked to the shore, I saw Kira was taking watch. I went up to him and yawned again. Kira turned around, surprised, but then smiled at me. "Good morning, Cagalli. Did you sleep well?" he asked.

I nodded and smoothed my rustled hair from sleeping on the cold, hard ground. "Slept very well. Mind if I join you? I asked.

"Oh yeah, sure," Kira said as he moved to make room for me to sit on the log. I sat down and looked out to the horizon. The waves were calm and there was even a gentle breeze. "Kira, I didn't really thank you for those times when you saved me back there. The encounter with that tree snake and the encounter with the sand pit," I said.

Kira looked at me in wonder but then shook his head gently. "You don't have to thank me. While we are here, we should look out for one another," he replied.

I said nothing as I replayed his words in my head, feeling reassured by his voice. He also reminded me of my brother with his kindness and wisdom. Kira also talked like Tatsuya as well. They both shared the same gentle lavandar eyees but Tatsuya was dead, whether I would like to admit it or not. Besides, Tatsuya was sandy blonde, not brunette. Kira looked at me. "You knew Tolle for a long time, haven't you?" he stated.

I nodded. "Yes, he, Mir and I have been friends for a long time. He's like family to me," I answered.

Kira nodded slowly. "So... do you blame me for Tolle's condition?" he asked quietly.

I stared at him in shock. "W-what?!" I stammered.

Kira sadly looked out to sea. "It was my fault that he's like this," he whispered.

His lavandar eyes look quite miserable and he even seemed on the verge of tears as well. I shook my head furiously. "No! I don't blame you! Neither does Mir or Tolle! It was an accident!" I insisted.

Kira said nothing. I could see that Kira, the usual came, troublefree boy blamed himself completely. "Look, Tolle will be okay! He's stronger than anyone I know and he'll pull through this. So you have to believe in him," I said determindly as I convinced myself with my words as well.

Kira gave me a small smile. "Thanks, Cags," he said.

"No problem-" I said but then shock hit me.

No one, and I mean no one had called me Cags except for a certain special person. My eyes widened in surprise. Was it coincidental? It must be. When I was about to question him about it, he was pointed out, "Hey look! The others are awake! Let's go discuss our day plan," he said as he stood up.

I felt disappointed for I had lost the chance to ask him at the moment. But I'll ask him later. "Okay! Coming!" I said as I ran up to him.

We discussed our day plans and we all broke up into our usual groups: Kira with Lacus, Dearka with Yzak and Shiho, Mirillia who was once more caring for Tolle and which leaves me with... you guessed it: ever cocky Athrun Zala! "Y'know, I hope there's a whole lot of food on this island because it doesn't seem that we'll be leaving anytime soon, huh?" I said quietly.

Athrun shrugged. "Yeah, if not... by the time they find us, we'd be cannibals by then," then he noticed my dark scowl. "Hey, hey! I was just joking!"

I rolled my eyes as I went back down to the shelter. I gave Mirillia a smile, but the weak smile she gave me in return alarmed me. "H-how's Tolle doing?" I asked.

Mirillia looked at me with wide eyes and looked as if she was close to tears. Tolle found breathing much harder than the day before and when I felt his forehead, it was a lot hotter than it usually was. Mirillia shook her head sadly. I knew she was frightened. Tolle really needed medical attention. Tolle opened his eyes but he still was in very much pain. "S-sorry to worry you g-guys..." he whispered hoarsely.

Mirillia laid a cool hand on his face. "Shhh.. don't speak.. Focus on getting better," she said with a barely manageable smile.

It pained me to see Mir like this, afterall she was very much like a sister to me and Tolle felt part of my family as well. I took the warm cloth and re-soaked it. Then I gently wiped his sweaty face. He was losing strength fast. I looked over to the few remaining supplies that we had. I had remembered that there were about three chocolate bars left and I took one. I broke it into small pieces. "Tolle, I know you feel miserable about eating, but you have to restore some of your strength. Here, have some chocolate," I said gently.

Tolle opened his mouth slightly and I popped it in. Tolle chewed weakly and managed to get some down into his system before choking on the rest. Alarmed, I quickly gave him some of the remaining spring water to drink. It took a while, but eventually, Tolle calmed down and went back to sleep. I felt horrible. Athrun must have noticed how I felt because he said, "Cagalli, do you want to go for a walk?" he asked as he grabbed my arm.

I nodded glumly and let him lead me. We walked through the 'pathways' that the others have made in silence. Athrun cleared his throat uncomfortably. "You know, that wasn't your fault," he said quietly.

I nodded sadly and sighed. "Yeah... I know. It just made me sad to think that even he wouldn't be able to get some chocolate down. I remember when we were younger as children, we always fought over chocolate and who would get the bigger piece," I said and Athrun looked at me with sadness.

I gave a bitter laugh. "Back then, I would win sometimes and then brag about it. But if I had known that this would be our destiny, then I would have gladly given Tolle every single piece of chocolate that I had had in this life," I said.

Athrun lowered his gaze to the ground and said nothing. I knew that he didn't know what to say at this moment for he felt quite bad as well.

Later on, when we got back, we had hear delighted cries of Lacus and Shiho who said that they had caught a bird. It was our first meat (excluding the fish) for the past week. Yzak and Dearka were in charge of plucking the feathers (and I had asked that they saved a few for my arrow) while Lacus and Shiho tended the fire. Mir looked after Tolle as usual while Athrun and I went fishing. I took my bow and arrow and decided to test it out with the fishing. The water was temperate and we stood in ankle-deep water that was still very close to land. "Hey Cagalli, why didn't you bring along the fishing kit?" Athrun questionned.

I grinned as I turned to face him. "We coulda done that, but there wasn't any bait. Anyway, I have an idea that I wanted to try out. I want you to wait for a fish to swim quite close to you and then I want you to scoop it up and then throw it into the air. That is what Shiho and I did yesterday. The only difference is that now, when I see the fish struggling in the air. I will release the arrow and send the fish to land. Sound good to you?" I asked.

Athrun thought it over and then nodded. "But since at the moment you have only one arrow and you don't have too much time to react, I suggest you be really careful before you release the arrow," he said.

I narrowed my eyes. "I know that! Besides, I have a good reaction time and I'm quite skilled with archery," I insisted.

Athrun nodded again. "Okay," he said as he stood ready.

I stood ready as well as I had my hands in position. I saw Athrun's eyes dart back and forth and saw that he was about to lunge. He scooped his hands underwater and then threw it all up along with a small silvery struggling fish. Something clicked in my mind and I quickly pulled and released the string and the bow, sending my arrow in a straight line. It went through the fish and then it flopped around helplessly on land. It kept on moving until lack of oxygen and then I cheered. "Yeah! And this time I didn't need to be soaked!" I exclaimed.

Athrun grinned mischeviously like a little boy. "So that would explain why you were dripping wet. I guess the fish got the better of you?" he said.

I punched him on the shoulder, while red with embarassement. "Oh shut up, Asu-chan!" I muttered as I dragged myself back to shore to claim my prize.

It was bigger than the last fish and looked tasty as well. The fish was as long as my elbow to the ends of my fingertips. It might even last long enough for everyone. I picked it up. "See, I was right, wasn't I? I got a perfect shot!" I said gleefully.

Athrun rolled his eyes but smiled. He ruffled my hair. "Yeah," he said as he placed his jacket on since it was getting colder.

I blushed slightly and then went over to Lacus and Shiho to show them what we caught. "Great! You got another fish! This will sure be a feast tonight!" Lacus said delightfully.

I nodded. "Yeah, the best meal within a week!" I added.

Yzak and Dearka came over, covered in feathers and blood. I stiffled a giggle as I saw them. "Here! Here's the stinkin' bird!" Yzak grumbled as he tossed Shiho the bird.

Shiho caught it and then set it down. "I think you two look good with the feathers," she said cheekily.

Yzak scowled and Dearka looked grumpy. They both stormed off saying that they were going to clean themselves a bit before dinner. I looked to the fire that was dying down to the lack of wood. "We need more wood to feed the fire," I pointed out.

Shiho and Lacus nodded. "We'll get it," they volunteered.

I nodded but I heard a third voice volunteer as well. I turned to see Mirillia standing up. "I'll help as well," she said.

I said nothing as she joined the other girls to help. I guess Tolle had told her not to worry about him. So that left me, Athrun and Tolle. "You go on and look after him, I'll tend to the fire," Athrun said as he took the lighter and a can of oil mixture.

I nodded as I went back under the shelter. "Hey Tolle, how are you now? Are you any better?" I asked gently.

Tolle whose head was resting on a bundle of old blankets, opened his eyes. "N-no... I think I'm getting worse..." his voice was barely louder than a whisper.

I was angry to see him like this. Tolle was always so strong, so confident. I shook my head. "No Tolle! Don't think that way!" I said determindly.

Athrun turned his head but other than that, paid no mind. Tolle gave a small chuckle. "C-Cagalli... you were always so c-cheer-ful.. ever since b-back when we were child-dren," he said in that same voice.

I was getting angry. "Why are you speaking this way?! You sound as if you are dying!" I shouted.

Athrun gave me a wierd look and Tolle gave a small sad smile. "My t-time is up... but I don't mind d-dying..." he said.

I wanted to slap this guy across the face. He was lying, wasn't he?! "Don't say things like that you bastard!" I yelled angrily. "You can't die now?! What about Mir?!"

Tolle coughed. "I d-don't want her to be in pain any lon-ger... I love her with all my heart but I also want her to keep living, a-and be happy," he replied.

"You IDIOT! What KIND of answer was that?!" I demanded.

Tolle looked at me with his dull eyes. "T-take care of yourself and Mir as well. M-mirillia..." he gave a small sigh and then closed his dull eyes for the last time. _Mirillia..._

"TOLLE!!!" I screamed as Athrun came running in alarm.

Everyone who had just come back, dropped everything they carried and stood in a strange manner. Mirillia's body shook. She had felt someone call her name from deep within. "T-t-tolle... TOLLE!" she screamed out his name while she felt her body growing heavier and collasped with tears streaming down her cheeks.

I stared at Mirillia who had screamed and then passed out in grief as she saw that Tolle was no longer breathing. Athrun held me by my shoulders. "Cagalli?" he asked in a small voice.

I was shaking, I knew it. I stood up and lowered Tolle's unmoving body.I shrugged off Athrun's hands and with my bangs covering my face, I felt anger and resentment. He was gone... just like that... "TOLLE, I HATE YOU!" I screamed as I took off into the jungle.

* * *

**A/N: Wow... I felt so sad after writing this... Even Tolle wasn't my most favorited character, but I felt what Cagalli was feeling, having a very close friend die right in front of your eyes. But please don't hate me for killing Tolle off! Please give me your opinon of this chapter, thanks.**


	11. The Promise

**A/N: **Hey everyone! Thanks for all the reviews you guys gave me! This chappie didn't take that long to write, actually. Truthfully, I had **THIS** moment planned from the start but I guessed I didn't really know how to get to this point, anyway I felt really excited when I wrote it all out. Big ASUCAGA moment! Hope y'all like it!

Disclaimer: I don't own GS/GSD or any of the characters. Except for the few names of the OC's that I made.

* * *

_I was shaking, I knew it. I stood up and lowered Tolle's unmoving body.I shrugged off Athrun's hands and with my bangs covering my face, I felt anger and resentment. He was gone... just like that... "TOLLE, I HATE YOU!" I screamed as I took off into the jungle._

**Chapter 11: The Promise**

I ran and ran through the jungle not caring if the leaves scratch or cut my delicate skin. It was getting darker, though I didn't really pay much attention. One of my dearest friends have died and the pang in my heart was unbearable. Tolle was like a brother to me, the brother that had taken Tatsuya's place. But I had lost another close one; it was like Tatsuya's death all over once more. But despite that, I could not cry. I had not cried for ten years. I panted and gasped heavily as I ran, not caring where I was going or whether there was an already made path or not. "Tolle..." I said to myself as I kept on going.

He knew that he was going to die, and must have been afraid to as well, but oh damn it all! He had to be so confident and cheerful even though he knew the outcome of his health. Tolle made it that way so that we wouldn't have to worry so much. But in the end, he could not maintain it no longer and knew he had to say good bye. "Damn you, T-tolle... I hate you," I muttered angrily.

I stopped and breathed for a moment before putting all of my anger and punching a near-by tree with all the strength that I had. He had also hurt Mirillia. She was all alone once more. The tragedies in her past had once again taken someone she loved. It was not fair. Mirillia was a kind person, she would never hurt anyone and was the nicest person that I had ever met; that is why she's my best friend. But, it seemed that the nicest people have the cruelest lives. For a moment, I felt pain. Not only the pain in my fist, but the pain in my heart as well. How long will the people I love be taken before my eyes? "Ergh!" I groaned.

I continued to run. The sun was completely down now. All the light that was left was the light of the moon. I ran and ran as if that would let me escape from this reality. Then suddenly without warning, my foot had gotten caught on something and sent me flying. I felt for a ground, but then I realized that the ground below me was gone. "WAHH!" I screamed as I fell and rolled down the rocky landscape.

It was happening all too fast. I yelped as I felt my body in contact with sharp rocks. And then finally, the blow: my left leg was slammed into another semi-large boulder. "AH!!" I cried out as the pain shot up my leg. After that, I seemed to have stopped moving. Everything became blurry and dark and my eyes closed, not knowing where I was.

_Meanwhile..._ Athrun raced through the jungle panting heavily. "Cagalli!" he called out.

He had heard a scream in pain and felt worried all over. _Why do I feel this way? I feel as if I need to be there to protect and comfort her... Could it possibly be..? _Those thoughts raced through his mind as he ran. Athrun had planned to give me some time to recollect my thoughts and calm down a bit. But it seemed that I had been gone for too long and thus he came to look for me. And then, the scream. He had heard it perfectly clear thanks to his coordinator special hearing. _She needs me..._ In the faint moonlight, he saw a small familar object laying abandoned on the cold dirt trail. Athrun slowed his pace and bent down to examine the object. He looked in alarm as he realized that it was my special knife. "Cagalli... she never goes anywhere without this," Athrun murmured as he once more picked up his amazing speed. _Please be okay! If you are not.. then I will never forgive myself!_

_Back to me.._ Was I dead? No it couldn't be... because I could still feel PAIN! I groaned as I couldn't move my left leg. I gently rolled up into a sitting position to examine my ankle. I probably sprained it but I doubt that it was broken. Then I heard something. It was faint but... there it was again! I listened real hard to make it out. "-galli..." I blinked. Someone was calling for me. "D-down here!" I yelled.

"Cagalli!" the voice was getting louder and it belonged to- "ATHRUN!" I exclaimed loudly.

Athrun came to the clearing running like he had horsepower or something but unfortuantely, he did the same thing I did and tripped. He was sent flying and then rolled down the steep hill while crying out in surprise. "Athrun!" I called out.

I moved closer to the base of the steep hill without thinking and then BAM! I felt myself being pushed down onto my back and I opened by eyes to greet bright emerald ones. Athrun had fallen onto me. "Ath-" I said in shock. "-run.."

Athrun blinked for a moment before realizing the position we were in. He quickly moved away from me and apologized while stammering in embarassement. _Thank goodness she's okay.. and I am so glad it is so dark that she cannot see me blush_. Athrun thought until he heard a small cry of pain. I had accidentally moved my left ankle and pain shot up my leg once more. "What's wrong!?" Athrun demanded.

I gave him a weak smile in the dim moonlight. "I-i just hurt my ankle as I fell down here the same way you did, only I didn't have someone to land on," I said.

Athrun blushed in the darkness once more. "S-sorry about that, I didn't mean to," he murmured.

I shrugged as I squinted to see how far down we were. We were on a shore so I guess that we were on the other side of the island. "I guess going back is out of the question, huh?" I said.

Athrun nodded. "Yeah, I highly doubt we'll do any good by hurting ourselves as we go up that steep hill. And with your ankle like that, I don't think we'll be going anywhere tonight, so we'll just have to stay here together," he said before realizing what he had said.

We looked at each other and then quickly moved apart a little further. It was an uncomfortable silence until Athrun remembered something. "Oh yeah, I just remembered. You dropped this back there," he said as he handed me a small object.

Even in the darkness, I could tell that it was my knife with it's sleek design. "Oh! I can't believe I dropped it! Thank you, Athrun," I said gratefully as I held the knife close to me.

Athrun who was itching to ask a question could not hold it in any longer. "Why does that knife mean so much to you? I mean, back on the Archangel, when it was on fire, you even risked your life to go back to your room to get that. What does it mean to you?" he asked.

I lowered my eyes and bit my lower lip. I took a deep breath. "Do you remember on the first day we met on the Archangel, you asked me what I had liked most about the ocean?" I asked.

Athrun nodded. "Yeah? And you replied that you had spent quite a few of your memories with your brother," he said.

I nodded slowly. "Yes, well this knife used to belong to my brother. He had given it to me on our birthday. We were only six back then and we were faternal twins as well. He was only a minute older, but he was ten times wiser than I was, and he was kind too. My brother was a coordinator like you while fate chose me to be a Natural. I loved my brother, but it also happened that I had killed him as well," I said in a voice that was barely a whisper.

I saw Athrun's eyes widen. "What?" he asked silently.

"It all started ten years ago..." I started out_**  
**_

* * *

_**Flashback: **__I had gotten my test back and I had failed miserably like all of my other tests. It was barely even ten percent and my parents were furious. I didn't know why I was like that. I was just really dumb for a natural. I didn't have any friends other than my aniki, Ta-chan to hang out with. But eventually, I stopped asking him to play with me because I saw that he was able to have friends, unlike me. He was a bright student with a big future. He scored perfect on every test and was our teacher's favorite student. Mother and Father were so proud of him while I felt so shamed. It had always been like this._

_I would always sit on the swing set all alone sadly while I watched Ta-chan play basketball with his group. He would always ask if I would like to join, but I refused, seeing that his friends did not like a natural such as I. The girls in my class always made fun of my appearance and behavior. They would cut my hair, throw junk on me and everything like that, making me feel worser than ever. Aniki would try to stop them, not knowing that they would continue after he went away. And I couldn't tell anyone either because I felt so worthless, so pathetic back then, it hardly seemed real that I was Tatsuya's twin. He was the perfect child, the child that every parent had wanted, while I, was a nobody._

_It hurt; it hurt so much. And one day, when Ta-chan became very ill _**(A/N: In this fic, coordinators can get ill)**_after playing in the rain all day with me, not seeing my loneliness. Mother and Father had blamed me for getting him sick. I hated my life. Why did I have to be born? I was the only natural in the family as well. I wished that I was born into a family of naturals instead, then I wouldn't have to go through all of this. If I had disappeared, they wouldn't care, but if Ta-chan had gone away, they would be worried sick. _

_I was walking home from school when Ta-chan, how sick he was, he greeted me and asked if I had wanted to go to the park. It was pouring rain and there had been flood warnings in other cities, but regardless, I agreed anyway. So then we walked to the park, where there was a great big river that went all the way down to the ocean that we always played in. "Tatsuya, wouldn't Mother and Father be worried if they knew you were outside playing with me instead of resting inside?" I had asked._

_Tatsuya, my brother had laughed. "Nah, it's good to let them worry once in a while," he had replied, not knowing how hurt I had been._

_I gripped my fists hard. "How... h-how could you do that?" I had demanded._

_Aniki had stopped laughing and looked at me in surprise. "W-what?" he asked softly._

_Tears poured down my face as I looked at him bitterly. "I-i... always wished to be you! And yet you toy with our parents like this! How I wish that mother and father would even look in my direction, to praise me, to love me... But no! All of their attention is directed to you!" I had cried out._

_Tatsuya looked completely shocked. "N-no.. Cagalli.. I-i di-" he never finished his sentence because I had interrupted._

_I shook with the hurt and the bitterness rising inside of me. "Ta-chan... I HATE YOU! I WISH YOU COULD DISAPPEAR!" I had yelled as I gave him a hard shove._

_His face looked so hurt that I had realized that right behind him was the rushing river. "No!" I had yelled as I tried to pull his hand, but it was too late; my deed was already done._

_"Cagalli...I'm sorry..." I heard his last words before he fell into the water and disappeared as if my regretful wish had been granted._

* * *

_**End of flashback**_. "That night, I had never cried again. That time, it was too painful to cry. Mirillia's reaction was kind of like mine when Tatsuya had died in front of me. Of course I didn't see it when he went under, but how ever hard we looked, we could not find his body," I said painfully.

Athrun stared at me with his green eyes before lowering them. "I... I know what it is like to lose someone, because I had lost my mother," he said quietly.

It was my turn to stare in surprise. I had always suspected rich boys to get an easy life; a perfect life. Athrun sighed and I knew he was waiting to tell his story to someone other than himself. "My parents always fought. They fought over anything from work to something stupid like food. Mother would always send me up to sleep but I could never because I could hear the argument going on. It had made me scared to see my parents like this and I knew some kids back at my private school whose parents were divorced. I didn't want that to happen,"

"When I had asked Mother why she had put up with Father and she replied that Father is a good man. He's just tired and cared very much for the both of us. She also said that Father may not appear to be gentle, but he has a good heart and if I ever needed someone, I should go to Father. Well one day, after an argument, Mother had said that she had forgotten some papers back at her office and that she would be back. I felt safe and happy knowing that she would come back and not leave us. But she never did,"

He swallowed before continuing. "I stayed up, waiting to hear my front door open to reveal mother, but I waited and waited and no one came back. I was nodding off, but around midnight, there was a phone call. The words that I heard scarred me for life. 'Your mother was involved in an accident and I am afraid to say that she is no longer alive,' That day, I was crying so much for Mother while Father remained like stone. He did not cry, he only buried himself in his work. When he saw me crying, he had said, 'Men don't cry. Nothing lasts forever,' Those were the coldest words I had ever heard from him. My hatred for my father began. I hated him so much. He was the one to blame for mother's death and yet he didn't show any emotion at her funeral,"

"Later on, as I grew, I found out that he hardly ever came home from work. Father would use his office like his home and I was left with the servants. The times I only felt somewhat better was when I was with Kira and the others. Sometimes I even stayed at Kira's for a while. His parents were kind and loving, unlike Father. They would smile, unlike Father. And they never yelled at Kira. I wished that Father would be like that because I could not believe that Father had cared for me like Mother said because what parent would do this to a child like me. And then I knew, it was because Mother was wrong; Father didn't care at all," Athrun ended.

"So that is why you hate your father?" I said slowly, it wasn't a question, it was a statement.

Athrun nodded. "Yes, and that is why I chose to go on this trip; to get away from home for a while," he added.

I sighed sadly. "You're pretty much the opposite of Mir. You hate your living father, while Mir loved her deceased father who'll never come back," I said softly.

Athrun blinked. "Deceased?" he repeated.

I nodded sadly. "It happened a few months after Tatsuya's death..._**  
**_

* * *

_**Flashback:**__ "Hey Mir, let's have a sleepover!" I had said as I took Mir's small hand._

_Mir nodded happily. "That's a great idea! Can I mommy? Can I daddy?" she asked eagerly._

_Her parents gave her a parently smile, the smile that my parents always gave Ta-chan and nodded. "Sure, Mir honey. If you like, Daddy will even bring over your stuff," said her father._

_Mir grinned brightly and hugged her father. "Thank you, Daddy!" she had said._

_That night, she had brought all of her stuff over and we stayed up late. "Cagalli, what is in that room?" she had asked, pointing to my brother's room._

_I was shocked, but then I gave her a smile. "Oh, that's just a guest room, but we're staying in my room. I have a big room," I had said as I took her into my room._

_We unpacked her stuff and then we had gotten hungry. "Mother, I'll be making some popcorn for Mir and I, okay?" I had said._

_Mother nodded. "Okay," she had said._

_Mother and Father were getting over brother's death slowly, but each day they would smile a little more. I still felt bad and I would much have preferred my parents to ignore me than lose Ta-chan, but deep inside, I was a little happy. I knew I was being selfish and a brat, but I couldn't help it. "Cagalli?" Mir's small voice piped up._

_I looked up and smiled. "Let's go," I had said._

_We made some popcorn and even had a food fight. After a long evening, we went to sleep only we didn't really get much sleep. And then suddenly, I saw a red flash and a loud sound. "Mir! Did you hear that?" I had asked._

_Mir nodded in the dim darkness. "Yeah, sounded like a emergency or something. What do you think happened?" she questionned._

_I shrugged. "I don't know, but the noise is still there, the accident must have been close by," I said._

_"Let's go check it out," Mir said as she got out of her sleeping bag._

_"Alright, but we have to get back before my parents find out that we are gone," I said as I slipped on my sneakers._

_We pulled a small jacket over our PJ's and ran down the street. At the end of the street, we felt it. It was extreme heat. "It's near my house! C'mon!" Mir said as she pulled me along._

_As we rounded the corner, we saw that it wasn't just near her house that the fire was at, it WAS her house! "Mommy! Daddy!" Mir had cried as she got as close as she could to her house._

_Fire trucks were everywhere with men shouting out instructions. It was a large fire and her house was completely on fire. "Mir! Don't get any closer!" I had yelled as I held her back._

_"Mommy! Daddy!" Mir had cried with tears spilling down her cheeks._

_In the end, the fire was extinguished, but at a price. Mir's parents were no where to be seen and then we realized the truth: they were burned alive when the house caught on fire. I held her as she cried out her parent's names over and over again while sobbing uncontrollably. Her pain was also mine as I knew what it was like to lose someone that you loved deeply. A shout interrupted my thoughts, "Cagalli! Mirillia!" I turned around to see my parents looked extremely worried._

_"Are you two okay?" Father had asked, with his forehead filled with perspiration._

_I turned my head away. "I-I am okay... but Mir is not," I whispered._

_Then it was at that point that they had noticed the burning house, which Mirillia once lived in that took her parents' lives away from her._

* * *

_**End of Flashback: **_"In the end, it turned out that her house was burned thanks to a few pratical jokes with fireworks. But unfortuantely, one of them had landed on her roof, making the house alight," I said quietly as I stared out to the ocean.

The waves were calm as they washed ashore and everything was peaceful. "We met Tolle about a few months after that tragedy and he comforted her when things involved parents like mother's day and father's day came. He said that he had lost his parents when he was young as well and that he had lived only with his relatives. Together, we all grew up together while the bond between Mir and Tolle grew. But now... it is all over. That bond is now broken for Tolle is no longer with us," I whispered.

Athrun looked at me directly. "I wish we never came on this trip! If we hadn't then none of this would have happened!" I had said as I felt tears sting.

Then something unexpected happened. Athrun came over and held me tight in his arms. "It couldn't be helped. We cannot change the past as much as we wanted to. Heine, Cap, Cook and Tolle all died, but they would want us to continue living, don't you agree?" he whispered into my ears.

I felt too miserable to be embarassed by his movements. "Cagalli, earlier when I had said that I was glad to have come onto this trip despite everything that had taken place because I got the chance to meet you was not a lie. I really am grateful that I met someone like you," he said. "Because together, we can understand each other and share our grief. It is not good to always cry, but I think that everyone needs to have a good cry about once every month to release their sadness and grief. No one will blame you if you ever cry, and I'm sure that your brother wouldn't mind if you cried. Afterall, he cared deeply for you," Athrun said.

I looked into his sincere eyes with my eyes swimming with tears. "A-athrun..." I sniffled.

"Cry as much as you want because that is a step to feeling better and I will hold you until you stop," Athrun whispered softly.

That did it. At that instant, I cried out my eyes for everything miserable that had happened in my life. The pain that I had felt when I saw that Tatsuya was the perfect child and I was not, his death, the deaths of Heine, Cap, Cook, and Tolle, for Mir and also, I cried for myself. And during that whole time, Athrun had kept his promise and held me, not complaining or moving when I had soaked his t-shirt and jacket with my tears. Eventually after crying for everything, I felt my eyelids grow heavy and then my world went black and everything was peaceful.

"Cagalli?" Athrun had whispered gently as he found that I had stopped.

He lifted my face gently and smiled for I was asleep with a peaceful smile on my face. _She's asleep..._ he thought as he laid my head on his lap for a pillow. He stroked my blond hair gently, feeling its' softness and looked out to the ocean. "Everyone needs a special person to keep on living and for me... I think that I cannot live without you, so that is the reason I will always protect you. From any type of harm, that is my promise. Because you are special to me," he whispered as he gave me a small peck on my forehead without my knowing.

He smiled as he did so because that was his special mark that would keep me safe.

* * *

**A/N: Wow! That felt good lol. Kind of a sad case for the three past memories and it may have been over exaggerated in Cagalli's case, but if you have a hard time believing it, then try to imagine how hard and what a sad time it had been for her to always be overshadowed my her bro. Anyway, I hoped that I pleased you all and I guess this would have to have been the most AxC moment throughout the fic so far. :) Oh and before I forget, if you had enjoyed this story, check out my completed fic: Distant Memories Thanks!**


	12. Facing Reality

**A/N: Hey everyone! This is probably one of the shorter chapters, but I felt that this was an important chapter for mostly Mirillia and Dearka, but I'm not gonna spoil anything, so please read!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own GS/GSD! **

* * *

**Chapter 12: Facing Reality**

As the sun slowly rised, the sound of the movement of the waves woke me. "Mmmm..." I moaned slightly as I rubbed my eyes.

Where am I? This wasn't the shelter... then I remembered yesterday's events and that I spent all night here with Athrun. Then I looked around, speaking of Athrun... where was he? As I sat up, something slipped off of my shoulders. I blinked as it fell to the sandy floor. It was Athrun's black jacket. "He left it to keep me warm..?" I murmured as I began to blush.

Then I tried to stand up, but forgetting that I had twisted my ankle real bad yesterday and fell back down with a yelp of surprise. "Y'know, you shouldn't be doing that until your ankle has healed," said a familar voice.

I turned my head to see Athrun who came over. I snorted and ignored him. "Where were you?" I demanded.

Athrun shrugged as he put his jacket back on. "I was just looking around to find the best way back to the others," he explained as he turned his back to me. "Here, get on my back,"

I blinked several times before refusing. "N-no no! I am fine!" I insisted as I tried once again to stand up, only to end in failure.

Athrun gave me an i-told-you-so grin. "See? You'll only injure yourself more. Just let me carry you for this once," he insisted.

I gave a sigh of defeat as I moved closer and then climbed onto his back. As Athrun stood, he wobbled for a bit but then regained his balance. "This hill is pretty steep so I suggest that you hand on tightly," he cautioned as he began to climb up the gigantic hill.

Even for a coordinator, I saw it was quite difficult. Athrun lost his grip and slipped again. "Damn... this is annoying..." I heard him curse under his breath.

I felt guilty. If I wasn't on him, Athrun would've made it back by now. "How about you just leave me here and get the others?" I suggested.

Athrun shook his head. "No, I won't just abandon you here! Look, I'll get us back soon, so don't worry about it," he said.

I relaxed a bit before I snuggled up unoticeably by Athrun with a peaceful expression. This guy.. he is so strong and warm... I feel safe with him... I thought as sighed.

Athrun made his way up the steep, rock hill. He was panting quite hard and look exhausted. But he pushed on, as wearily as he was and eventually, he got us to the top. "Let's take a break," I said because I knew he needed one though he wouldn't admit it.

"O-okay," he replied as I slowly slid off his back and landed on my good foot.

I sat down on the grass and looked up at the sun, which was quite high up. It was already morning and the others would be awake by now. They would probably be having breakfast and speaking of food, I was famished. I didn't have any dinner last night and the only food in the forest was quite challenging to get. We needed energy to get that so we wouldn't be eating anything until we get back. I thought about the fish and the bird that we had caught yesterday and wondered if the others have already eaten. I heard a small rumble and I looked up to see Athrun looking quite embarassed. I have a small smile. "You're hungry too huh?" I spoke.

Athrun grinned sheepishly. "Yeah... we better get back though," he said as he stood up once more. "Let's continue, it shouldn't be too far," he added as he turned his back to me.

I hesitated for a moment before climbing on. Coordinator or not, Athrun was as tired and as hungry as I was and here he was offering to carry me. I felt so useless because I couldn't move my ankle, but Athrun spoke. "Cmon, what are you waiting for? Let's go,"

I nodded and climbed on, thinking that I would owe him back later. "When we get to the shelter, you should ask Lacus to look at your ankle. She took first aid as a course and is quite good at it. Lacus would tend to any injuries I would get or anyone else for that matter when we played together. Your ankle doesn't look that serious, so she should be able to fix it up quickly," Athrun said.

I nodded and said nothing. Maybe if Tolle had survived long enough for Lacus to... no.. it wouldn't have worked. Too many of his internal organs were malfunctioning. I looked away, as I wished it wasn't such a painful death for him. I was snapped back to reality when Athrun spoke. "Hey! I think we're getting closer!" he exclaimed.

I looked up and saw that he was right. The ocean was getting closer as it seemed. We went through some bushes and then we saw the shelter in view. "Hey!!!!" Athrun called out, grabbing some attention.

Lacus and Shiho turned around from underneath the shelter. "Athrun! Cagalli! Where were you?!" they demanded.

I gave them a tired smile. "To make a long story short; we got lost and I accidentally hurt my ankle," I explained seeing their faces worry. "But I don't think it is too major because I feel that I am hungrier than I can feel the pain," I added.

Lacus gave a relieved smile. "Let's get you something to eat while I fix up your ankle," she said and Athrun brought me underneath the shelter.

"We didn't really have dinner so the bird and the fish are still untouched. But it's about breakfast so we'll get the fire started," Shiho explained.

I nodded as Lacus took out the liter of rum to use as anti-septic and put some on my ankle. Then she wrapped a piece of cloth. "There, that should do with the supplies that we have, so I suggest that you don't move around a whole lot today and rest up," Lacus said.

I nodded and watched as Shiho went down to help the others with the fire and everything. Then I looked over to the far side of the shelter where Tolle's body laid. He looked so peaceful with that small smile on his face; almost as if he was sleeping and that I could wake him with a touch or by calling his name. But the place where he had gone was a place that I could not follow him to. "Tolle..." I whispered softly as I felt sadness wash me over.

I felt a hand on my shoulder and turned my face to meet emerald orbs. "He died with a smile on his face... that's the best way you can die, rather than having your body completely broken, like my mother's," he said quietly.

I said nothing but turned my eyes away from both Athrun and Tolle. I felt that a piece of my heart was gone because he was such a close person and I saw that everyone else was doing things half-heartedly too. They all felt this sadness but the one who was the most broken up would have had to be Mirillia. I looked to the shore where Mirillia sat down about a few dozen feet away staring unmovingly at the calm sea. She looked so distant. I forced myself to look away or else something inside might have broken. The thing that was able to distract me was the smell of food. "Hey everyone! The food is now ready so come on and grab your share!" Shiho called out.

"Here," Athrun said as he helped me up and placed my arm over his shoulder.

I had to admit it was a little akward because he was a bit taller than I was and my arm was at a wierd angle, but I couldn't complain. Hopping on my good foot, we were able to make it down the pebbly path down to the campfire and sat down. Lacus gave us each a part of the bird and the fish and we all ate in silence, not knowing exactly what to say. Yesterday, I would have been wolfing down my share in an instant while savouring the taste, but today was different. As much as I didn't want to think about Tolle, I could still feel the weight bearing down on everyone else. The food was tasteless to us and it shouldn't have been, since it was our second time eating meat after days and days of fruits and veggies.

I looked up from eating to see that there was someone who wasn't eating and that another was not here with us. "Why aren't you eating Dearka?" Yzak asked, breaking the silence.

Dearka barely touched his food. "Oh, I'm thinking of saving it for later because I'm not really hungry right now," he answered with a small laugh.

I nodded understandingly. "And what about Mir?" I asked since she didn't join us and was still at the shore several dozen feet away from us.

Laucs frowned slightly. "She said that she wasn't hungry when I asked," she replied sadly and we left it at that.

I saw Dearka enter the shelter as he sat down beside me. "She's a mess, isn't she?" he said quietly.

I knew that instant that he was referring to Mir. "Yes, s-she doesn't want to believe that Tolle is dead. Mir doesn't want to accept the truth," I whispered.

Dearka looked to my side and saw Tolle's body laying there, unburied. "We should bury him; we can't leave him like that," he said.

I nodded. "I agree, but we can't do it without Mir as well. She has to say good bye to him before we do so," I replied.

When Dearka said nothing, I spoke once more. "T-tolle's last thoughts were about Mir. He loved her very much and that he wanted her to be happy even if he couldn't be by her side in the end," I said softly.

I didn't know why I told Dearka all of this but maybe the reason was that I felt that he cared for Mirillia as much as I did and if possibly maybe even more than I knew. Dearka stood up. "I'm going to clear my head," he said quietly as he walked into the jungle and I sat there with Athrun.

I couldn't help but feel horrible inside of me. I was so useless and I couldn't even find the right words to comfort Mir even though she was like a sister to me and I knew her better than anyone else. Athrun looked over and realised what I must have been thinking about. He laid a hand on my shoulder as I looked at his handsome face with worrisome eyes. "It's not your fault; just let her cool off for a bit. She needs to think things over by herself," he said gently.

At first I didn't really know what to reply, but after a moment I said, "Alright,"

I didn't like the idea of not being able to do anything for the others, but maybe this is for the best? My thoughts were interrupted as I felt something heavy on my shoulders. I turned my head and my eyes widened in surprise. "A-athrun?" I asked as I felt blush creep across my face.

He had placed his head on my shoulders. "I pulled an all-nighter to keep watch. Let me rest for a bit, please," he explained tiredly.

I blinked several times before comprehending. "If you lay down, it'll be more comfortable for you," I offered as I knew it was the least I could do for this guy.

Athrun gave me a small smile and laid on my lap and fell asleep immediately. I frowned as I looked at the ceiling of the shelter. Everyone was doing so much for me and what have I done for them in return? I mean even this guy in front of me kept watch all night long in case something might have attacked us and he even carried me all the way back here too even though he was exhausted. I gave a small sigh and hoped that my ankle would be better soon because I didn't want to be such a burden to the others. Though my last thought before going into a world of darkness was that I wanted Mirillia to overcome this sadness.

* * *

By the time I had woken, the sun had already set and that everyone was preparing for dinner. "Can I do anything to help?" I asked Lacus.

She nodded. "Yeah, you can go wash up those fruits that we picked and then cut them up. Unfortunately, we weren't able to get any more meat since we ate up all of our shares," she said.

I nodded understandingly. My ankle felt better and I was actually able to put some weight onto it. I did what I was told and soon we had dinner. Well everyone that is, except for Mirillia. I looked behind to see that she was still at the same spot and hasn't moved for the whole day. "I'm worried, she needs to eat," I said. "I know she is still mourning Tolle and that we haven't buried him yet because we can't do it without her, but she needs to eat at least,"

We all stopped eating and glumly looked down. Suddenly I felt someone next to me stand up. I looked up in surprise. "Dearka? What are you doing?" I asked.

He looked at me. "What do you think I am doing? I am going to make her face reality and make her get over it," he said as he marched over.

"Good luck, Dearka," Kira called out softly as he watched his friend go closer to the solem girl.

I watched as Dearka laid a hand on her shoulder. "Mir, you need to face reality that Tolle is gone," he said.

And during the whole time that Tolle had died, I saw her expression change to anger. "What right do you get to speak that way about him?! You told me that everything would be okay and I believed you! You told me that Tolle was still alive and that he would come for me and I was hopeful because I felt that you were speaking the truth! But you lied! Tolle is not alive and he's never coming back! Why is this creep standing in front of me doing here?!" she yelled as she slapped him across the face harshly.

I stood up, but Athrun pulled me back down. "No, this is Dearka's battle. Believe that he can bring Mirillia back," he said and I helplessly sat back down.

I watched as a red mark grew on Dearka's cheek where Mirillia had slapped him. "Mir... I didn't mean to break my word like that, but how was I supposed to know that this would be the outcome of his life? I had no idea! So why are you blaming me for all of this!?!" his voice got louder.

Tears flowed down Mirillia's face as she said nothing. She only got up and ran. "MIR!" Dearka yelled after her as he ran into the jungle after her.

"Don't run away!" Dearka yelled as he grabbed her arm when he caught up to her.

Mirillia looked at him through her hateful tears. "Y-you hated him, didn't you?! I saw it in your eyes. You wanted him to die!" she screamed at him.

Dearka's face twisted with anger. "What the hell?! I admit that I was jealous of him, but even so, I never wanted a friend to die! I am saddened that Tolle is gone, but at the least he needs a proper burial!" he said loudly.

"No! If you bury him, I'll never see him again!" Mirillia screamed through her tears.

Dearka took a deep breath and grabbed Mirillia's shoulders firmly. "Do you know that if Tolle saw you like this he would be heartbroken?" he said quietly.

Mirillia's eyes widened slightly in surprise. "He doesn't want to see you like this! His last thoughts were about you too because Cagalli had told me that he wanted you to be happy, even if he wasn't with you any longer. Tolle loved you very much and I know that he wants you to smile again, so please do so, if not for me, then please do it for Tolle! I beg of you! I can't stand to see you like this! I know I am not Tolle and I am not so foolish to know that my feelings are one-sided, but I will be there for you even only as a friend," Dearka said boldly.

Mirillia's eyes were wide with surprise. She had no idea that he had felt this way about her. Dearka knew that she may not love him as the way he loved her, but he was still willingly to stay with her. No one had ever said something like that before. Dearka turned his head to one side and avoided her eyes as red tinted his face.

As for Tolle's matter, she knew all along that he wasn't going to come back, but had refused to believed it. Tolle had been her best friend like Cagalli and even was her boyfriend. He was there when Mirillia needed it and as painful as it was to believe that he was no longer alive, she could still feel his presence watching her. Mirillia lifted her hand and gently brushed Dearka's face making him look at her in shock. "Thank you, Dearka... I can finally open my eyes to the truth now..." she said softly as a few tears slid down her cheek.

Dearka looked at her as he wiped her tears away gently. "Anytime, anytime," he whispered softly.

And me, I stood behind a tree smiling sadly as I watched the two of them help each other in times of sad memories. Tolle could finally rest in peace now that the one that he had loved was no longer crushed with the weight of his death. "So everything worked out fine, huh?" said a quiet voice beside me.

I nodded as I closed my eyes. "Yes, it did," I said.

Athrun smiled at me through the darkness and took my hand. "I want to show you something amazing. I think that you will like it, c'mon!" he said as he lead me through the jungle.

We crawled through the bushes and then finally came to a clearing. "What is it that you wanted me to see?" I asked quietly.

Athrun gave me a smile. "Shhh... look out there," he pointed as he whispered.

I looked to the area where he was pointed and I gasped in surprise. Dozens and dozens of small lights dancing around. "Amazing," I breathed.

Athrun nodded as he said nothing. It was like magic. These small insects illuminated the island through the darkness and even made me forget all the hardships that we had gone through. It was like a light of hope that one day soon that we would be rescued from this island. "Thank you Athrun, this was a wonderful gift," I said quietly.

Athrun smiled. "Anytime, anytime," he replied as we sat there in the bushes watching these magnificent critters perform in front of us.

* * *

**A/N: Well there we go! This chappie was focused mainly on DxM, but I think it had a few small moments of AsuCaga in it! Please tell me what you think and if I needed to improve in some places. Thx!**


	13. Berserker SEED Mode

**A/N: Hey everyone! 13th chapter is up! Finally! I don't know whether something is wrong with my computer or not, because I usually type things up on openoffice, and the paragraphs are usually automatically done when I upload it onto fanfic, but today, there weren't already and I had to seperate them.. Does anyone else have this problem? Well hope y'all enjoy this chap.**

**Questions from the past chapters that I had gotten recently:**

**From Hade.Throne.Heiress: _Though at first I would thought that the cruise would have more people, and the people who PAY for the trip wouldn't have to work at all... or maybe they didn't pay o)_**

**Answer: Well no matter how many people were there, you still had to work. For me, when my class when on a 5day camping trip, even though we paid a lot for it, we still had to do chores like, kitchen duty, firewood chopping etc. So I planned for it to be the same**

**From: Hade.Throne.Heiress: _Also, who didn't Shiho and Cagalli just throw the fish on shore?_**

**Answer: They were standing in knee deep water so the shore wasn't that close. When Athrun and Cagalli were fishing, they stood closer to the shore.**

**Aniki means Big brother. A term that is usually used by younger brothers regarding their older brothers and also used by tomboys as well.**

**And Cagalli's last name is Hibiki. I think it is a lot less comfusing when Kira and Cagalli don't have different names, but Kira's is Yamato and you'll find out later why.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own GSD/GSD and nor this plot really, though when I compared it to the actual book, none of this happened. I mean no romance, no close person dying on the shore etc. But I think the ending will be similar.**

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**Chapter 13: Beserker SEED Mode**

The next day was probably one of my hardest days that I can remember. We had all agreed that today was the day that we would bury Tolle's body. As hard as it was for Mir and I, we had agreed that it was for the best or else Tolle wouldn't be able to rest in peace. In the morning, everyone worked hard to dig a deep grave for Tolle and it wasn't as easy as it sounded. We decided to bury him not too far from the shelter into the jungle. The dirt there was fresh but hard to dig up with the number of tools that we had. It was difficult using your hands and planks of wood to dig up a large grave. The skin on my fingers were worn off and they bled, but I did not complain because it was not my place to.

Finally when noon arrived, we had finished digging Tolle's grave. "Gently place him in," Shiho instructed as the guys carried Tolle's body from the shelter.

They gently place him in at the bottom and we all looked sadly down at his corpse. A few tears came down Mirillia's face but she wiped them away bravely while Dearka held her shoulders gently. Lacus also looked misty eyed, but had Kira's support. I resisted the urge to cry since I knew Tolle wouldn't want me to cry for him. "Tolle was a good person and always looked out for others even before looking after himself. He was selfishless and brave to the end. He is a person that we'll miss dearly," Kira said solemly.

We all gave silent nods in agreement. "Tolle never gave up when times looked bad and was always there to cheer you up when you were feeling sad," said Shiho.

"He was a good friend to all of us and never complained about anything," I said quietly.

"T-tolle smiled all the way to the end and he'll still be smiling from where he is, silently encouraging us to go on. S-so, for his sake, we have to go on," Mirillia said softly as she sniffled.

We looked at each other and silently said our farewells. I took one last look at his peaceful expression as we buried him. He was finally at peace. He lived without regrets and that was the way things should be. I didn't feel as sad knowing that he had lived his life to the fullest and accepted it. Goodbye Tolle, you were a dear friend to all of us... I said in my head before turning to go back with the others.

The rest of the day was pretty normal as we got back to our routine of survival out in the middle of no where. Athrun and I took a stroll after doing our part in the jungle. It was a hot day and calls of birds were in each direction. I was hot and sticky due to sweat but I didn't complain since no one did. As we walked, we heard a rustle in the bushes and we stood in alert. Then to my amazement and surprise, a large boar came out grunting at us. "Athrun..." I warned.

He nodded as he stood in front shielding me. "I know," he replied quietly as he watched the boar.  
I gulped.

The boar seemed to be furious for no reason and was about to attack. With a loud grunt, the boar charged and I cried out in surprise as Athrun pushed me out of the way. The boar grunted and stood in a ready stance. Athrun panted as he got back up and stood in front of me once more. "Don't worry, Cagalli. I will protect you from this beast," he said boldly.

I could do nothing but stare at him as he fought the boar. _I will protect you even if it costs me my life._ Athrun thought as he dodged the charging boar. Even as a coordinator, the wild boar was deadly. It charged at Athrun once more and threw him against a tree, making Athrun cry out in pain as his body slammed against the hard object. "Athrun!" I yelled as I sprang forward, concerned for him.

Athrun grunted as he tried to stand up. Blood trickled from his head down his face. I pulled out my knife as I stood in front of him. I breathed heavily as I waited for the boar to charge. I stared at him through his eyes of hate. Then suddenly he reared and charged again for me. I threw my knife directly at the boar, but the boar wasn't as stupid as he looked and jumped to the side. My knife landed on the ground and the boar came after me. The last thing I knew was that he threw me upwards with his tusks sending me into a world of darkness as I landed.

**

* * *

**: "CAGALLI!" I yelled as I saw blood coming down from her mouth.  
Without thinking about my injuries I leapt over to the side where Cagalli's knife laid abandoned. I held it up to my face, ready to attack as soon as the beast moved. _Protection... _The word went through my mind, getting louder each time. I promised that I would protect her from this beast. And this time, I would not break that promise.

_Flashback: "Athrun, come over here for a moment," said a familar kind voice._

_I turned and blinked. "Yes, Mother? What is it?" I had asked as I stopped what I was doing and headed for her direction._

_"You may not fully comprehend, but do you know what protection is?" Mother had asked when I was 6._

_I frowned thoughtfully. "It means that you protect something special or precious to you, doesn't it?" I had replied._

_Mother had given a small laugh. "Yes, Athrun. But protection can also protect someone than just something. Do you know what you would like to protect?" she had asked._

_I gave her a strange look because I didn't really know what she had meant back then so I shook my head. "I see that you don't really understand. Well, let me try to explain... When you focus on protecting someone or something with a great resolve, you become stronger so that you are able to protect that someone," said Mother._

_I__ nodded as I understood. "I see mother, I promise that I will protect you!" I had said as Mother gave me a big hug as a thanks._

_But unfortuantely for me, I was not able to fufill that promise..._

* * *

I panted heavily as I stared into the eyes of the beast. This time, I will not fail! As my resolve grew stronger, I felt something inside of me pulsing. It was warm and I felt power surging throughout my body. Then my eyes grew sharper as I saw every little movement that the boar did. As the boar charged, I was already one step ahead of him. I cried out and I dodged quickly to my side and thrust the knife into the boar's head as it went past me. Blood splattered as the boar roared in pain. It shook its head back and forth trying to get the knife out but no use. As it relentlessly charged once more, I side stepped and took the knife out and slashed him once more. Then again and again as blood splattered everywhere. "ATHRUN! STOP!" yelled a voice.

I froze as I turned my blood splattered face and met Cagalli's horrified eyes. I dropped her knife and the boar fell down dead.

I saw him look at me with terrified eyes. He stepped back as he held his hands out as if to protect him. "N-no... I d-didn't mean to..." he kept shaking his head.

I was completely shocked. Athrun didn't know what he was doing at all and he looked so lost. As I came closer, I wrapped my arms tightly around him. _Please..._ I thought. _Let him be okay..._ We stood for a few moments like that before I felt Athrun's legs give out. It surprised me; how much heavier he was than I was. But with a grunt, I held him up. He had fallen unconscious. I gave a small sigh of relief. "Thank goodness," I whispered.

As I dragged his body gently across my back, I spotted my knife and I picked it up. The blade was completely covered in blood as I sheathed it. Then I slowly turned my eyes to the boar that was laying dead. He was ripped to pieces with blood everywhere. I closed my eyes fiercely as I took that image out of my mind. I had to get Athrun back; he was also badly injured. Slowly, yet gently, I struggled my walk through the jungle with such a heavy load while the thoughts of what just had happened passing through my mind.

I had never felt so frightenened in my whole life. And it wasn't because of the boar; it was because of Athrun. Or was it truly the Athrun I knew? His eyes had looked as if he was possessed and looked as if he was enjoying it. It scared me so much. Athrun looked like a monster out of control. I shook my head back and forth quickly. No! Athrun wasn't like this! He was a kind, caring person who hated seeing things die so this couldn't have been him! Yet... I frowned sadly. This person was ... still Athrun Zala... I blinked tears as I walked faster and faster despite the weight  
I could see the shelter in view and I grunted as I fell onto my knees. Lacus looked in my direction as she heard my grunt. "Cagalli! Athrun! Oh my god! What happened to the two of you?!" she demanded in concern as she ran over quickly, with Kira following behind with the same looks as well.

"Please... just help Athrun..." I said quietly while Kira nodded, understandingly. "Lacus, please tend to Athrun's wounds while I'll tend to Cagalli's wounds," said Kira, softly yet firmly.

I blinked as I had forgotten that I had sustained an injury as well. Lacus nodded. "Yes, just bring him under the shelter, Kira," she said and Kira brought him over.

I watched distantly as I saw Lacus tenderly wrap bandages around his head, where he had collided with the tree. Normally, I would have been jealous, but now I was still getting over the fact that Athrun, the normally Mr. Calm, Cool and Collective would lose himself like that. I sighed as I felt something cool to my bottom lip. I looked up where Kira took a small piece of cloth and pressed it against my mouth. "Here, let's wipe off that blood," he said as he gently wiped off the blood that was there.

"Oh thanks," I said softly as I saw the little piece of fabric that was cut from a sleeve of clothing darken with blood.

After a quick moment, Kira was finished and he washed it. "Cagalli, would you mind taking a walk with me?" he asked.

I blinked but then I nodded shortly after as I followed him across the shore. Maybe talking things with Kira might help. Afterall, Kira is Athrun's best friend and he probably knew him the best. "Cagalli, would you mind telling me what happened with you and Athrun?" he asked softly.

I knew he was asking about the incident that had just happened. I swallowed. "W-well... Athrun and I were walking in the jungle when suddenly a boar came out and attacked us. Athrun had told me to stay back but when the boar charged, Athrun got thrown against a tree,"

"I was worried about him so I stepped in front of him, between the boar holding out my knife. I tried to throw it at the boar, but I had missed and the last thing I knew was that the boar had charged at me. I think I fell unconscious for a bit because I didn't remember what was happening back then, but as soon as I opened my eyes, Athrun was brutally slashing the boar with a keen intent of slashing him into pieces. The boar was already dead but he kept going. I've never seen him like that before and I-i well, I'm concerned for him," I admitted.

Kira closed his eyes and I could tell he was recalling something. When he opened his eyes and gave a heavy sigh, I knew that he knew something. "What is it?" I asked.

Kira looked away. "When we were both younger, when his mother had died, a boy in our class had called him a mama's boy without knowing the truth and Athrun got enraged. They fought outside during break and Athrun got the upperhand. I didn't know any of this because I had been working with the teacher, but when I started to hear someone say that Athrun was in a fight, I immediately ran outside. When I got there, the sight horrified me. Athrun's hands were around the boy's neck, strangling him. His eyes looked possessed like you had described and wanted to kill this boy. Back then, I had ran up to the two and seperated Athrun's hands from the boy who was gasping for air. Athrun had looked at me shocked but as soon as he realised what he was doing, he ran away," he explained.

I said nothing as I realised that this had happened before. Kira spoke agan, "Athrun usually is a calm and kind person, but when his feelings get bottled up, he becomes this, but I think that after you told me, this is the second time he's gone through SEED mode," he said.

I turned to look at him. "SEED mode?" I repeated, not understanding the statement.

"Our genes and DNA provide coordinators some sort of reaction called SEED. It's different for each coordinator. For me, when I'm studying hard for my exams, I guess I sort of go into SEED, but for Athrun, I guess it is when he is fighting with a great resolve," Kira explained.  
I turned my eyes towards the ground. "I see," I replied.

Athrun opened his eyes and blinked several times, not knowing where he was. "You're back at the shelter, Athrun. Are you feeling alright?" Lacus asked.

Athrun felt his head and sat up. "Y-yeah... I think so... what happened to me?" he asked.

Lacus looked at him with worry. "Cagalli brought you back. You were both bleeding; you with your head while Cagalli with her lip," she explained.

Athrun realised something as he looked around. "Where's Cagalli?!" he demanded.

Lacus looked to the shore. "She went for a walk with Kira while you were unconscious. May I ask what is wrong?" she said.

Athrun looked at his hands. They were cleaned of the blood, but not visible to the others, he could still see and feel the blood that were on his hands. "I-i did something horrible in front of Cagalli... she looked at me with a terrified expression..." he said glumly.

"Well... I don't know exactly what you did, but if you feel bad about it, you should go up to her and apologize to her. At the same time, show Cagalli that you aren't that horrible person and make it up to her by telling her something you can't really tell someone else unless you have those feelings for them," Lacus advised.

Athrun frowned slightly. "You knew all along huh?" he said.

Lacus giggled. "Of course, Athrun! I've known you since we were kids and I can read your thoughts really easily. Now! Go think of what you're going to do!" she said.

Athrun smiled. "Okay," he said.

I blushed heavily as I turned my face away. "W-what do you mean?" I stammered.

Kira gave me a smile. "I can tell, by your eyes that you love him very dearly," he stated.

I blinked several times. Was it true? Did I really love him that much that it became an unbearable thought that if Athrun had died, I would have lost the will to live? My answer... yes... I did love him. I brought up my eyes to meet with Kira's lavender's eyes. "I'm surprised... only people that known me for a long time can usually know what I am thinking or feeling, but I've only met you recently even though it feels like an eternity," I said.

Kira closed his eyes for a moment. _I think it is time for me to tell her the truth..._ "Cagalli, does the name _Tatsuya Hibiki_ sound familar to you?" he asked.

I stared at him through wide eyes. No one had spoken that name for ten years. Mother and Father didn't either. Maybe this guy was a friend of Ta-chan's? I recalled in my mind but I didn't remember a brown haired boy with violet eyes... "Yes... he's my aniki," I replied. "Why?"

"Because..." Kira said. "Tatsuya Hibiki didn't really die in that flood,"

I stared at him. Was he speaking the truth? No way! Tatsuya had to have died. I saw his head went under that horrible day. "No... you're lying... there's no way he could have survived that day," I said, not believing him. "Because... it was I who killed him.."

Kira shook his head with a small smile. "He didn't die and he doesn't blame you... do you know how I know?" he asked.

I shook my head. What he was saying didn't make any sense to me. How did he know that Tatsuya didn't die and what was his connection to him? If aniki didn't die, then why didn't he come back to us? My mind was surrounded with questions. Then my eyes widened as I realised I was looking in the same lavendar eyes that Tatsuya had. Then does this mean...?

Kira smiled. "Because Cagalli... I am your brother," he said.

* * *

**A/N: oooh! Cliffie! Lol, i couldn't help myself hah. Well everything will hopefully be cleared up in the next chapter. Thanks for all of the reviews you guys! As for this fic, I have no idea when it is going to end, maybe either chap 20 or 25... Also, seed mode for Athrun is sorta a berserker ability where you don't realise what you are doing until you snap out of it. Anyway see ya!**


	14. Truth

**A/N: Hey everyone! Wow! Thanks_ sooo _much for those reviews I had gotten for my last chapter! The most so far in this fic! I was really happy and to that, I was able to get on typing since a lot of you told me to update quickly! Anyway, here: enjoy!**

**Question: (Ying Fa) is kira going to have the SEED mode similar to athran other than he studying part?**

**Answer: Well I wasn't planning to give him a SEED mode in this fic apart from school stuff, but since you asked, I guess he'll go SEED in action too, but later on and you'll find out why.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own GS/GSD nor any of the characters.  
**

* * *

_Kira shook his head with a small smile. "He didn't die and he doesn't blame you... do you know how I know?" he asked._

_I shook my head. What he was saying didn't make any sense to me. How did he know that Tatsuya didn't die and what was his connection to him? If aniki didn't die, then why didn't he come back to us? My mind was surrounded with questions. Then my eyes widened as I realised I was looking in the same lavendar eyes that Tatsuya had. Then does this mean...?_

_Kira smiled. "Because Cagalli... I am your brother," he said._

* * *

**Chapter 14: Truth**

I walked alone along the pebbly shore as the waves soaked my feet. I kept on walking until I noticed a small cliff sticking out to the sea. I went over and sat down. My world was spinning around and around. But the one thing that made sense to me was: "So, Kira's my bro huh?" I whispered with a grin_**  
**_

* * *

_**Flashback**__: I was speechless. My brother?!?! There was no way! Sure they had the same smile and the same eyes, but Kira couldn't possibly be my twin? "W-what? How? It couldn't be!" I had protested._

_Kira shook his head with a serious expression. "It is true. And I'll tell you the truth behind it," he said._

_I looked at him with wide eyes, not daring to believe the impossible. "That day, when I fell into that freezing flood, I had struggled to keep my head up. Having a slight fever didn't exactly make things easier either. It was hard to breathe as I drifted downstream, trying to stay alive. I couldn't see through all of the rushing water and it was painful, crashing into objects. My head finally went under. I closed my eyes as my world became black, ready for it all to end. But when I opened my eyes again, I was in a different place; no longer soaked to the core. I was in a bed under a roof. A lady and a man greeted me as I looked at them. They had asked if I felt better and I said I didn't know. Then they had asked for my name. I had looked at them blankly because for some strange reason, I didn't remember who I was or where I had came from," Kira told me._

_"They told me that I was found, out by the edge of the river during that rain storm when their dog, Tori _**(A/N: Yes, I know Tori means bird, but I'll just use it for his dog)**_ had ran out sensing someone in trouble. And thus, they carried me back to their house and that I've been unconscious for a week and a half. They also told me that I was able to stay with them until I recovered my memories of who I am. They were kind people, Caridad And Haruma Yamato and they treated me as if I were part of their family of Naturals. They even given me a name, Kira to call me by since I didn't know who I was. They had no children due to a illness that prevented them, but they lived in harmony. I helped out around the house to pay them back for what they done for me,"_

_"The next day, I had saw Caridad weeping and when I asked her why she was crying, she had replied that as selfish as her wish was, she wished that I would stay. She told me that she had always wanted a child, a child like me and that her dream was coming true. Haruma had argued that if I had wanted to go, that they should let me. I thought it over. I always wanted to belong someplace where it is peaceful. Even if I remembered who I was, I would stay with this family if they would take me. I had told them that and it caused Caridad to smile again when she agreed full-heartedly. Haruma was also very pleased and then told me to call him and Caridad Mother and Father,"_

_"But after a month later in may, as I was walking home, I had saw a blonde girl walking towards the river with a bouquet of flowers. She looked extremely sad and I had followed her quietly without knowing why I felt that I had to comfort her. Her blonde hair and her amber eyes looked extremely familar to me as if she had known me in my past life or in a dream that I once had. I watched her quietly as she whispered some sad words saying how she was sorry that day when she accidentally pushed her brother into the river. She began to say how she wished that it had been her instead of her brother. But then she gave a sad smile and said that she had brought some purple Hyacinth which were the colour of his eyes. _**(A/N: Hyacinth (purple) means **_**I am Sorry, Please Forgive Me or Sorrow, it seemed suited for the moment) **And then she stood up and said how she loved and missed this boy. And then she said, 'Goodbye, Tatsuya,' I quickly followed her home as I felt something inside of me pulsing. The name Tatsuya rang in my mind louder each time. I quickly ran home,which wasn't too far, scared of what I was feeling,"_

_**"**That night, as I began to dream, everything that happened in my past flowed through my eyes like a movie. From the day I was born to that rainy day. I had sat up in bed with sweat pouring down as I panted heavily. I knew who I was. My name was Tatsuya Hibiki, twin brother of Cagalli Hibiki, who was the girl that I had met that day. However, I felt that I didn't want to go home. I felt happy here. These good people showed me something that my real parents never showed me. They loved me (even though I wasn't their real son) for who I was, not only as a genius. They accepted me for being myself when with my real parents, they only wanted the best out of me and I felt pressured into making the top marks. Here, I was free of any pressure. But I knew I had to visit my old house again soon,"_

_"The next day, when I had woke up, I checked the calendar. I was surprised to see it was May 18th, my true birthday. And if it was my birthday, then it must have been yours as well. That day, I skipped school to look for a present that I would giveher indirectly. As I passed by a certain shop, my eyes were caught on an object. Then I looked up at the store, the store that you and I would always go to when we had the time. This store had a lot of unique items but there was only one item that caught your eye everytime; it was a green pocketknife, with a extremely fancy handle and sheath. She would look at it everytime we went in. However, she never had enough money to buy it. So that was what I bought for her with the money I had left. As I walked along a familar road, I knew that no one would be home during the day. You were at school while Mother and Father would be at the lab working hard. And if nothing changed, the basement window would still be broken,"_

_"I crept to the backyard and then went down the cement steps. I came to the basement window that was like I guessed, was still broken and was slightly open. Since I was agile, I was able to lift the lock and get in. I quickly and quietly crept down the hallway, double checking to make sure that no one was there. However, I was slightly wrong in my calculation as I heard a soft cough. I quickly dived under the table, hoping not to be seen but soon I saw that no one had came out. I then went from under the table to my room. I at first had no idea how to give this to you indirectly, but I wrote a note earlier. I quickly placed my wrapped gift onto the table and planned to get out when I accidentally stepped on the floorboard that creaked. I felt that the situation was more or less like a train wreck because I remembering hearing you come out of your room and into mine. I had dived under the bed and saw your tiny feet cross the room,"_

_I had glared at him. "That was YOU?!?! I had never been so scared in my life!" I had yelled angrily at him._

_Kira grinned sheepishly. "Sorry, I had no idea, but let me continue,"_

_"As I hid under my bed, I heard you look around as you thought something had broken in, which was true. You saw the gift I had placed on my table and the note said..."_

_I closed my eyes as I recalled the note which I read and reread many times over and over again. "This is my gift to you, my dearest sister. I knew how much you loved that special pocketknife that we always went to see and I've finally saved up enough to get it for you through getting good grades. So Happy Birthday Cagalli, so please keep on being happy, Love Tatsuya," I said as a few tears slipped down my cheek._

_Back then I had thought that my aniki was waiting to give it to me on our birthday and had saved it a month earlier before his death, but what I didn't realize was that he also worked hard to earn allowance from our parents so that he could have gotten this special pocketknife for me since our parents refused to get it for me. Tears fell faster as I knew he was speaking the truth. "T-ta-chan!" I cried as I embraced him deeply._

_"Cagalli," Kira had said as he returned my embrace warmly._

_I sobbed in his arms. "I-i missed you so much! I had thought you had left me!" I yelled as I banged my fists on his chest._

_Kira smiled gently. "I'm deeply sorry. I never meant to hurt you like that due to my selfishness, but I never did leave you. Without your knowing, I always kept an eye out for you. That big orchard tree we had in our backyard, sometimes when you're working with your back facing the window, I sit on that big branch and watch you. During your archery and naginata classes, I would watch you during your practises, cheering silently," he said softly as he wiped my tears._

_I stopped crying and frowned at him. "Ta-chan you stalker!" I said, good-humorly._

_Kira's mouth dropped. "I did not stalk you! I was merely looking after you without your knowing! **AND **__stop calling me **TA-CHAN**! I'm not a child any more, Cags! Call me Kira-ni!" he said._** (A/N: In Kira-****ni****, the ****ni**** stands for ****oni-chan****oni-san**** means brother)**

_I broke into a grin. "Ta-chan, Ta-chan! I like **TA-CHAN** better!" I said happily in a sing-song voice as I danced away from him._

_Kira laughed as he chased after me. "Cags! I'm your big brother! You should do what I tell you to!" he argued._

_I stuck out my tongue. "So what? Only being a minute older, I think I don't need to be bossed around oni-chan," I replied._

_"Oh yeah? Let's see about that! Let's see if you're still ticklish!" Kira teased as he tickled my sides making my laugh and cry at the same time._

_"Hahah! N-no fair! You c-cheater!" I had laughed as I rolled over, making my pocketknife that was dangling off my capris shone brightly in the sunlight._

**End of Flashback.**

* * *

I swung my legs back and forth on that cliff. I let out a tired sigh but I gave a smile. I finally found my brother. And he was Kira Yamato, the adopted son of Caridad and Haruma Yamato. I started to wonder what would've happened if Kira had actually came back to live with us. This time, I wouldn't care anymore if he was the perfect child and I was his shadow. Having him back was good enough for me. Now that I thought about Kira and then my own family, Kira looked exactly like Mother. Before Kira had sandy blonde hair like me, but I guess he dyed it to his liking. He definitely took his appearance from Mother. Gentle violet eyes and chocolate brown hair with a delicate face. My smile faded as I thought about my parents. Would we ever see them again? Who knew when we would get off this island. It was in the middle of no where. And worse of all, Mother and Father probably thought that I had died and given up after all of this time.

"Cagalli?" said a familar voice behind me.

My eyes widened as I spun around, already knowing who it was. Athrun, with bandages around his forehead looked at me indifferently. "A-athrun..." I said softly.

"Would you mind if I sit next to you?" he asked as he took a few steps closer.

I turned my face as I gazed out to sea once more. "No..." I said as he sat down.

"Cagalli... I'm so sorry about earlier... I didn't mean to go all out like that," Athrun said quietly.

I didn't reply as I remembered his monsterous eyes with the intent to kill. "My mother... I had sworn that I would protect her, but in the end, she still died and I felt that my promise to her was shattered into pieces. This time, when I swore that I would protect you, I was determined to keep that promise. I didn't realise what I was doing in time and I lost myself," Athrun explained quietly as he looked out to sea with me.

I looked at his side of his face. His face showed regretfulness, like the regretfulness that I had felt when I had pushed Kira into the river so many years ago. I realised that what he was feeling now was what I had felt back then. "Athrun.." I said softly.

"Truthfully, I'm a little scared. I don't know anything. I feel another presence inside of me, who wants to take over me. I don't know how to keep him from appearing. I don't want to hurt anyone anymore.." he said as his bangs covered his face.

"Athrun," I repeated as I cupped his face with my hands, making him look at me.

His eyes spoke the truth. He was truly scared. "I don't know what that other presence is either, but you are Athrun Zala, are you not? You're stronger than this 'other you'. And at the times when you are not, I will lend you my strength," I spoke gently.

Athrun's eyes wavered as he hugged me tightly. I was shocked at the sudden movement but I returned his embrace. He was always there when I had felt weak and become my pillar of support. Now it was my turn to become his pillar of support. Athrun released me gently with a tint of blush covering his face. "Cagalli... no one has ever made me feel this way about another person. You are there, your cheerfulness and straight forwardness to clear things up. If you are ever alone, don't despair because I will be there beside you, because Cagalli... I truly love you," he said.

I looked at him through my wide eyes. He had spoken the words that I longed most to hear from him. "A-athrun... I-i love you too.." I whispered as for the second time in the same day, tears of happiness slipped down my face.

Athrun was surprised for a moment, but just a short moment. He smiled gently as he took a finger to wipe away my tears. "That is good, I now know how you feel about me, Cagalli," he whispered with his face barely as inch from mine. "That way, we can surely be able to protect each other if needed,"

I stared into his warm orbs and slowly closed my eyes as I felt him giving me my first kiss. It was warm and blissful. I held him close as I returned his kiss. I had felt that every single bad thing that had happened disappeared right there in that moment. When we broke the kiss Athrun and I looked at each other with blush covering our faces. "Heh.. that was your first, wasn't it?" Athrun grinned.

I scowled. "Oh shut up!" I complained.

Athrun gave a soft chuckle and smiled. "This was a good day, despite earlier, don't you think?" he asked as he placed his hand on mine.

I nodded. "Yes, it was a good day. I even found out that my brother is still alive," I said.

Athrun looked at me. "Isn't that right?" he said, not sounding surprised.

"Tatsuya Hibiki, my older twin brother is Kira Yamato... I can live with that because someone important in my life was restored to me," I said as I leaned on his shoulder.

"I'm happy for you Cagalli," Athrun said as half closed his eyes to the setting sun.

I sighed in happiness. Along the shore, a mass of pink flowing hair ran. "Cagal-" a hand stopped her.

Lacus looked up with her baby blue eyes to meet soft lavender ones. He tilted his chin towards me and Athrun who were watching the setting sun. Lacus became misty eyed. "Finally.." she whispered.

Kira nodded. "Yes, they finally admitted their feelings to each other. Everything is going to be okay," he said.

Lacus leaned her head against Kira's shoulder as she looked at the beautiful sunset. Kira held her gently from behind, finally looking like a couple. _Everything will be alright...  
_

* * *

**A/N: Wow! I can't believe Kira's explanation was so long! Heh, it was even longer than Cagalli's flashback back in ch. 11! Anyway, I'll get them off the island soon, if you were wondering, but the way won't be too nice for them tho. Please tell me what you think!  
**


	15. Pirates

**A/N: Hey everyone! Thanks so much for your support in my previous chapters! It's been 2 weeks since I last updated and I apologize for that because I had to take some time off to study for exams and such. But most of my exams are over and I only have one to go so here it is: the 15th chapter!**

**Question: (smartkidz) would you make cagalli called her brother 'Kira' instead of 'Ta-chan'? it sound nicer, don't you think?**

**Answer: Yeah, Cagalli will call Kira Kira instead of Ta-chan because I only added Ta-chan for a bit of comical relief or I woulda thought that the story was too serious and such.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters of GS/GSD! **

* * *

**Chapter 15: Pirates**

Several days later, clouds had gathered quickly and were dark grey. Just like that, rain came down hard, soaking everything in sight. We were all cooped up together under the little shelter we shared, but still, it wasn't enough for everyone to stay dry and unfortunately, Lacus became a victim of the rain. She had gotten extremely soaked when the waves crashed onto the shore, surprising her and became very ill. I looked to my side where Lacus, looking very feverish was held in Kira's arms, with him looking very worried. We had no medications and the only thing we could use was a damp cloth, but that was all we had. Mirillia sighed. "Well at least it's a good thing we stored so much fruit since I highly doubt that we're stepping outside in this weather," she stated.

Yzak nodded but scowled. "Yeah, but we need meat too! It was beenseveral days since we ate that boar you killed, Athrun," he complained.

Shiho rolled her eyes. "Yeah, however even if we were able to catch something. All the wood would be wet and it'd be impossible to get a fire started even with a lighter.And it would also be a disaster to make a fire in the shelter. It'll melt the plastic and then we'd all get sick," she pointed out.

Yzak scowled at her. "Jeez, you got everything worse case scenario thought out, haven't you?" he said sourly.

Dearka grinned. "Well, that's Shiho, Miss Know-it-all," he said while Shiho looked at him icily.

As I watched the rain fall down from the side of the shelter, I felt Mirillia perk up in surprise. "What is it, Mir?" I asked as she stood up.

"I thought I heard something, I'll be right back!" she said as she took off.

"Wait!" I called, but she soon ran out of sight.

We sat under the shelter all bundled up as we listened to the raging sea. "Good thing we're not out there huh?" Athrun said as he moved to sit next to me.

I shivered at the thought of being out there again on the sea. Even if there may be not a way to get off this island, we were safe for the moment. We all had each other for company and to talk about our worries. I didn't want to imagine if I had somehow been the only one alive... I looked up as I felt a warm object around my shoulders. "Here, you were trembling," Athrun said as he offered his jacket.

"But aren't you cold?" I asked in surprise as I felt the chilly breeze of the sea.

Athrun shook his head. "No, I'm fine. I'm a coordinator afterall and I don't get cold as easily," he said.

I gave him a grateful smile as I held his jacket closer. His jacket smelled nice despite being out here for the past several weeks; it reminded me of Athrun like how my green switch knife reminded me of my brother who happened to be Kira. I tilted my head so that it was now on his shoulder as he watched the water pump fill up with rain water. And with my eyes, I watched as Dearka paced back and forth nervously as he began to worry. "Mir has been gone for too long, don't you think? She was running into the jungle and at the rate she is going, she must have confirmed whatever she heard was right or wrong," he said.

We nodded and murmured in agreement. "I'm going after her," Dearka called as he dashed into the jungle.

Athrun and I stood up as well. "We're going as well," we said in sync.

Kira stood up as well but Lacus sickly took his hand. "K-kira... take me as well.." she said feverishly.

Kira gave her a small smile but shook his head gently. "No, Lacus.. you're only going to get even sicker. Stay here with the Shiho and Yzak," he said.

Lacus shook her head. "N-no... please.. Kira, I want to go with you... please," she protested.

Kira looked hesitant. I looked towards Dearka's disappearing figure. I was about to speak when Lacus spoke again. "I-i'll only feel worse if I knew that someone might have needed my help couldn't get it," she said.

Kira sighed. "Alright, but hang on tightly," he said as Lacus climbed onto his back.

"Let's go," I said and we all took off except for Shiho and Yzak who were looking after the camp.

We took the trail that we had always taken, which was a man-made trail by us. It was a lot quicker and we knew where we were going as well. Rain poured down, but we kept on going through the muddy trails. Dearka soon came into view as he was also calling out for Mirillia. Then we heard it. A scream that pierced my heart. "Mir!" we all cried as we knew she was in trouble.

Dearka, driven by the same force that had possessed Athrun a few days ago known as SEED ran with at an inhuman pace. We struggled to keep up with him and when we saw the clearing, the sight before me took my breath away. There was a meduim-sized speed boat with a large cabin where the captain would steer. It was like a fisher's boat, but much bigger and more advanced. There were people on the shore digging up holes and to my horror, they had gotten Mir! Dearka was full of rage and was about to leap out of the bushes and rescue her, but we held him back down. "What ar-uhm!" Athrun covered his mouth with one hand.

"I know we need to save her, but rushing out there without a plan would be suicide and it won't help Mir any at all! Besides! They have guns with them and we are unarmed!" Athrun spoke quickly, yet quietly.

Dearka stopped struggling and Athrun released him. "Mir.." he spoke quietly.

We turned back to the scene in front of us. "What are they doing here?" I spoke quietly.

"Looks like... they're digging for something.." Kira replied.

I shot him a glare. "I knew that! But who are they?!" I hissed.

"M-modern day pirates..." Lacus whispered.

"Pirates?!" we all repeated as Lacus nodded wearily.

I gulped. Not good... not good at all. These were modern day pirates, but I never seen one before. But that didn't mean that I haven't heard of them. They were smugglers and slave traders who are famous in the tropical seas. They collected illegal items and hid their stuff in remote areas where it is unpopulated so no one would know that they were part of the trade. Then they would sell their items in small countries, collecting money and selling slaves as well. They disguised themselves in fishing boats so no one knew who they really were. This definitely wasn't good at all. "L-let me go!" came a cry and our attention was turned back to Mirillia who was in the arms of a strong, gigantic man.

But the rugged-looking man just laughed, revealing a mouth that resembled a jack-o-lantern's. "'Ar, lassie, quite a beaute.. Where did ya come from?" he snarled having a thick kansai-ben accent.

Mirillia glared at the man who held her prisioner and said nothing. "Not talkin' eh? Doesn't matter... ya'll make a fine slave, lass," he said as he held her delicate face.

Deraka could no longer be restrained as he charged at the big man yelling, "UNHAND HER!!"

The men were all caught in surprise, but it didn't last for long. It was about 26 to one and Dearka managed to get caught as well. They gripped him by his hair and Dearka clenched his teeth in pain. "Dearka!" I wanted to yell, but Athrun held me quiet.

I looked at him and knew he was also in pain watching all of this, but we couldn't do anything because if we were caught, there was no hope for any of the others. "'andsome lad... makes me wonder if there's more of yeh... Search thee island men!" the big man yelled as the others ran towards where we were.

We all gasped as Athrun yelled, "RUN!"

We all took off but Kira, having to carry Lacus's weight slowed him down and was caught when the sea pirates took Lacus and threatened to hurt her if Kira didn't co-operated. Even though he was caught, he yelled, "GET AWAY!"

Athrun and I ran through the jungle, having hopes that maybe we knew this island better than they did but they were dashed as we saw that they had taken a shortcut and ambushed us. I cried out in surprise as 4 men jumped out in front of us from the rain. Without hesitating, I quickly unsheathed my knife faster than ever and thew it directly at one of men. But they had moved at the last minute and the knife just barely grazed the side of his cheek. As they reached out to grab me, Athrun charged and send one flying into the trunk of a tree. "Cagalli! Escape!" he yelled as he distracted the two men.

I hesitated. I didn't want to abandon my friends. I couldn't leave Athrun. "GO!" Athrun cried as one of the men jumped onto him, bringing him down.

The look in his eyes told me that he wanted me to go and I made the decision, as hard as it was for me, to escape. Sadly, by the time I had moved, the men had already gotten Athrun and took out a blade to his neck. "Girlie, if yeh don't want yer friend to die, come with us," they snarled.

I closed my eyes to prevent seeing the hurt in Athrun's eyes as I let them capture me. I didn't care where they brought me, but as long as we were together, there was a possiblity of escape. Besides, they didn't know that Shiho and Yzak were still roaming around. Hopefully, they would not be found by these cruel men. They tied up our struggling hands no matter what we did, and made us walk back to their ship. There, we rejoined Lacus, Kira, Dearka and Mirillia as they herded us onto their ship and into the lower decks.

Then they pushed us so that we fell into a sitting position like a lifeless doll on different sides of the small room. The sea pirates surrounded us all. "You can't be taking us out to sea! A storm is going to come and it'll doom us all you hear me?!" Dearka yelled.

The biggest man, who I suspected to be the captain stepped forward shrugged. "Doesn't matter to meh.'uuna, do with them what ye will. I got bigger things to take care of," he ordered as he climbed up to the deck and disappeared from view.

Then a tall, but very ugly looking man stepped into view. He had purple, yes, PURPLE long hair and wore a digusting smirk across his face as he came over to where Mir, Lacus and I were. I recognised him as the man that my knife cut. "Pretty looking slaves we got this time, eh boys?" he said in a smugly manner.

I hated him the moment I saw him. He wore a smirk that said he was better than anyone else. The pirates laughed evilly as this man inspected the three of us. He began with Mir and then stopped at Lacus's feverish face. "What's the matter, Cutie? Sick are you? Maybe you played too much in the rain eh?" he said disgustingly.

Kira looked as if he wanted to rip this guy's body to pieces and being his twin, I felt the exact same. "LEAVE HER ALONE YOU BASTARD!" I yelled as I spat at him.

The man frowned as he wiped off my spit and bent down to me. He then smiled a frightening smile. "You're quite a fiesty one, aren't you? That knife that cut my precious face was thrown by you, wasn't it? But no matter, I'll forgive you this time because you're quite cute as well, Baby. Y'know, I think I'll keep you as my slave instead of selling you 'cuz you're more of my type eh," he said sickening.

I glared at him wishing that I could've burnt holes into his head. The men laughed cruelly as the man in front of me look at me with great interest. "I'm Yuuna, Yuuna Roma Seiran, and your name, Baby?" he asked as he came closer, if that was even possible and carassed my cheek with a rough hand.

I didn't know what had happened next, but I guessed something inside of Athrun must have snapped because he had that SEED look and forcefully broke the thick ropes that binded his hands together and charged at Yuuna, punching his jaw forcefully that I swore that I heard a crack. "Don't you touch her if you want to live," Athrun said coldly, with the same killer eyes.

I stared at him, realising that his threat was real and that he would actually kill this man if he had gotten the chance. Athrun was about to come over and help us out of our ropes when Yuuna stood back up and shot him square on the shoulder, sending Athrun crying out in pain flying onto his side, clutching his injured shoulder. "ATHRUN!" we all cried out.

Yuuna smirked evilly. "It wouldn't do if you had released our slaves.. and I promise you, you will regret punching my beautiful face," he said and then turned to the pirates who quickly tied Athrun up again, not caring that he was injured. "Boys, take those other two along with this one into the boilers. Oh and make sure that their ropes are tight enough this time eh?"

Yuuna pointed to Kira, Dearka and Athrun. Then he snapped his fingers, resulting the moving pirates to stop. Yuuna walked up to Athrun, who glared at him angrily. "Oh and this is payback," he sneered as he grabbed Athrun's injured shoulder tightly, making Athrun stiffling his cry of pain.

I cried out his name, but they were gone and Yuuna left as well, leaving us in a blackened room with no light_  
_

* * *

_While with Yzak and Shiho during the Pirates' Attack: _Shiho looked at the rain fall down. "Hey Yzak.. just asking out of curiosity, why did you first come on this trip?" she asked as she poked the dirt with a stick. 

Yzak blinked. "What?" he looked at her dumbly.

Shiho rolled her eyes. "I'm asking, why did you plan to come on this trip with the Archangel and all? Wouldn't you have been happier at home?" she repeated.

"Dearka made me," was his simple reply, but it was much more than that.. oh much more..

_Flashback: Several weeks before the trip... Dearka ran up to Yzak. "Hey Yzak buddy! Are you going to go on that boat trip like I asked you to?" he had asked._

_Yzak shook his head as he finished up his summer project. "Nah, I'm not interested. Maybe next time," he declined._

_Dearka frowned but then grinned ear to ear. "But Yyyyzzzaaaakkk! You gotta come! I heard there's some cute girls coming along and guess what? That girl you told me about that you had met when you were younger at one of your father's parties is going too! Shiho Hahenfluss! You know you like her though you don't admit it!" he said childishly._

_Yzak whipped around at the sound of her name, turning red with anger and maybe a little somethign else. "W-what?! I DO NOT! DEARKA!" he yelled as he chased Dearka around his room._

_Several minutes later... Yzak was out of breath. "A-alright... a-alright... I'll go, now get out," he said tiredly._

_Dearka grinned. Mission complete! "Okay! See you soon pal, oh! And don't forget to bring some Gravol and medicine in case you get sea sick!" he said as he walked out the door._

_"I DO NOT GET SEA SICK!" Yzak had yelled as he slammed the door and that was the reason why he had chosen to come along even though he got sick later on.._

_Flashback over._

Shiho looked bored. "Oh.. is that it? Well don't you think the guys are kinda slow? They should have found Mirillia by now," she said as she got up.

Yzak groaned. "Athrun must have gotten them lost. That idiot!" he said as he got up as well.

They went through the jungle but heard a scream. "That belongs to Mir! C'mon!" Shiho yelled as she dragged Yzak.

They ran, but Yzak wasn't really known for his atheletic skills as his academics were and slowed Shiho more than she liked. But by the time they reached the other side, they had witnissed the unexpected visitors and saw that their friends were captives on a boat that was setting off. They had ran onto the shore, but too late... the boat was gone. "Come back!" Shiho cried, but it was no use; their friends were gone into the greying atmosphere, surrounded by water.

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**A/N: Dun dun dun! Yeah, some of you guys complained about making the happy period too long, so here's a twist! Though it was sorta unexpected, but hey! They needed a way to get off the island and here's a ticket outta there, though now I hafta figure out how to get Shiho and Yzak off the island as well. I REALLY don't like Yuuna and well for anyone who does, I apologize, but I cannot stand his personality! I don't really like Fllay or Meer either. Does anyone other than me think a MEERXYUUNA would work or FLLAYXYUUNA as an evil couple? Well I hope you all like it and I'll probably be able to update about another chapter or two before leaving for my month and a half trip. Ja!**


	16. Prisoner

**A/N: Hey everyone! Thanks for all of your reviews! I found them really funny and that I'm not the only one who thinks of YuunaxFllay or YuunaxMeer as an evil couple. Maybe for my next fic (when I'm done with this one which will be very soon) I'll use them as an antagonist couple. Anyway, I'm pretty sure the fic will end around chapter 20, so you still have about 4 chapters to go! Anyway, enjoy!  
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**Q: Hades.Throne.Heiress: But I've noticed that Yunna's the only "pirate" that doesn't have the little stereotypical pirate accent. The "'ol girls", or "talkin'", "ain't matter", "lad...lass..." those things... he speaks normal english..**

**A: Yeah, he and another character from GS (that got killed off in ep.1) that is going to be introduced in this ch., speak normally unlike the other pirates and you'll find out why. **

**Q (from ch.14): Hades.Throne.Heiress: Black rose (naturally doesn't exist but...) means farewell or good bye!**** Did you get your flower info on ?**

**A: Some site I found on google lol.**

**Q: (from ch.14) Hades.Throne.Heiress: I liked how Kira separated his parents and adoptive patents with a fine but significant line; in which would be love and quality. Now, if Kira's original parents had a kid that was mentally disabled, such as a special ed student, what would they do?**

**A: Well, I guess in that case, they would push Cagalli harder than they would push Kira. Now if they were both by any chance mentally disabled, truthfully, I have no clue.. XD **

**Q: Ying Fa-chan:****since yuna is hitting on cagalli, is meer gonna hit on athran?, and fllay hits on kira? **

**A: Well earlier when they were on the island, Yzak and Dearka teased Athrun about Meer hitting on him at school. As for Fllay, probably not in this fic.  
**

**Disclaimer: I don't own GS/GSD nor any of the characters except the random pirates, but they don't really have a big part in the fic. **

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**Chapter 16: Prisoner**

We sat in the complete darkness as we huddled together for support. How long were we here? I didn't know. Maybe a day already? I shivered. Here, the floor was cold and damp, unlike our sandy shelter. If I had known this was to be our fate of being sold as slaves, I would have stayed on the island even if it had meant that I would never to see my parents or my friends from school ever again. The pang in my heart grew as I thought about my parents. Were they still looking for us or did they give us up for the dead? I didn't like to think about it.

We let Lacus lay as best as we could as we could see that she was in the worser condition than we were. I could feel her hot breath as she breathed heavily. Mirillia looked at me through the dark and I felt that she felt the same things as I did. If Lacus wasn't brought to someplace warm and dry, she'll only get sicker and sicker. We needed to get to land immediately, no matter the cost. Lacus needed attention and Mirillia and I shared the same thoughts; we didn't want to see another one close to us die.

As we heard the metal door creak, we looked up in alert. In the light, a boy that was maybe a few years older than us, but seemed the youngest among the pirate crew came in with a tray of 3 bowls. "It's time for you to eat," he spoke as he came closer.

I stared at him, seeing that he had orange hair and light blue eyes and that he also didn't have an accent like the others. "How can we eat? Our hands are tied," I pointed out angrily.

The boy gave me an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry about that, but to make it up to you, I'll feed you, afterall, that's what they sent me here for," he said.

My anger vanished immediately as I exchanged looks with Mirillia who gave me a look that said he was different than the other guys. The orange haired boy sat down in front of us and held up a bowl. "It's kind of plain, but we've been running short on food, so this will have to do," he said as he held out a spoonful of miso soup towards me.

I hesistated for a moment. Were sleeping pills, poisonous ingredients or drugs in there? I eyed him suspiciously. He grinned. "Don't worry, There's nothing in there except miso. Besides, I'm chef's assistant so I help with the making of it. Aren't you hungry?" he asked.

I frowned. This guy was way too friendly and I was about to refuse when I heard my stomach growl. I turned red with embarassement as I wearily accepted the first spoonful of soup. He was right, it was plain, without any tofu pieces or seaweed, but it was food other than fruits and veggies, so I savoured the taste before accepting another spoonful. And it was also quite warm, despite my surprise. It made the room feel warmer. When I finished eating, I felt less hungry and the boy went to feed Mirillia. When he was about to feed Lacus, who was still feverish, she refused. "What's wrong with her?" he asked us.

"She's sick and needs medical help immediately! We're thankful for the food but you gotta let us go!" Mirillia cried out.

The boy blinked a few times before giving us a sad frown. "I'm sorry, but I'm not in charge of this ship; the captain is and I'm only a kitchen boy," he replied.

We lowered our sad expressions as we felt useless. "But I can fetch a damp towel for her," he offered.

Mirillia and I exchanged thoughts before nodding. Even though it wasn't much, it might help Lacus a little. "Alright," I said.

The boy came a small nod and left, leaving us in darkness once again.We sat there, couldn't help but wonder where and how the guys were and I was worried as well. Athrun was hurt, even though it wasn't too badly, it was still a wound and it wasn't treated. Oh please, Athrun, be okay_  
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* * *

_With the guys... _In someplace similar in the amount of space, dampness and coldness, the 3 boys sat in a corner with their hands tied behind their backs. As the ship moved across the mighty waves, it suddenly lurched and all three were thrown to the opposite wall. Athrun winced as he felt pain shoot up his arm and gave out a small cry of pain. "Athrun! Are you alright?!" Kira demanded. 

Athrun gave his friend a small smile in the darkness. "F-fine.." he replied.

Dearka sat up. "They should at least wrapped up that shoulder of yours to stop it from bleeding," he grumbled.

Kira nodded. "Yeah, but I wonder how Lacus is doing, afterall, she is very ill," he said worriedly.

Athrun gave Kira a reassuring smile in the dark. "She should be okay, Cagalli will think of something," he said. "However, if that bastard hits or hurts her in anyway, I swear he will regret it!" he added angrily.

Even in this dark moment, Dearka grinned cheerfully. "Oh wow... this is the first time I've ever seen Athrun being this protective! You're in love!" he said cheekily.

Athrun lowered his head. "Yeah, but in order to save them, we'll have to come up with a plan to get out of here," he said as his face darkened.

Dearka blinked. "Then does this mean you have one?" he asked.

Athrun shook his head sadly. "No, not yet.. in the meantime,we should think of one fast!" he whispered_  
_

* * *

_Back to us... _ When it seemed like forever, the door creaked open again and the boy walked in with a small bucket of water and a towel. "Like I promised, here," he said as he laid the damp towel on Lacus's forehead. 

She murmured something inaudible, but stopped struggling and fell asleep. "Thank you. What is your name?" I asked.

The boy grinned. "Me? I'm Rusty Mackenzie, pleased to meet you," he said.

Mirillia tilted her head a little. "Rusty, tell me, why is a nice guy like you doing here with a bunch of nasty sea pirates? You look more of a city boy than a smuggler," she said, saying the question that I was going to ask.

Rusty lowered his head slightly. "Well, I guess telling you won't hurt, since you're more of my age than those other guys are. **(A/N: He means those pirates, not Athrun and the others) **Well, you're right about me being a city boy. I grew up in Kyoto along with Yuuna as my best friend,"

With that, I took a sharp intake. Yuuna and him were friends? How could that be? This guy was nice while Yuuna was NASTY! "We were complete opposites, but we still got along fine. When I had lost my parents in a trainwreck, I was always feeling miserable, but Yuuna looked after me. As we got older, I noticed Yuuna stopped attending school and one day, I skipped classes because I got worried. As I followed him to the dock, I overheard him talking to some older men, something about smuggling illegal items. I was shocked, overhearing that the boy I knew was no longer the same person. As I wanted to make a run for it, they heard me and due to my size being smaller than they were, they caught me easily,"

Rusty swallowed. "They were going to drown me until Yuuna said that I was not going to do any harm and that they should let me join them instead since hardly anyone there knew how to cook a proper meal. So now, here I am as the cook's assistant. I also fetch things for the captain to avoid him being seen, but really, it isn't so bad here," he explained.

"So that is why you and Yuuna both don't have an accent like the captain," I stated.

Rusty nodded. "Yes. The captain found his crew wandering homeless in the poorer districts of Japan and eventually convinced them of the money that they could make and they agreed to come. Yuuna and I are the newest members, but Yuuna knew the captain since he was little and was the best at calculating, so he became first mate," he added.

"Well, since you told us your name, we'll tell you ours. I'm Cagalli," I said.

Mirillia nodded. "I'm Mirillia,but Mir is fine. And this here is Lacus," she nodded towards Lacus who was still sleeping.

I looked Rusty in the eye. "Rusty, is Yuuna still your best friend?" I asked all of a sudden.

Rusty blinked in surprise. "Well is he?" I repeated.

Rusty lowered his gaze to the floor and I could tell he was doing some big thinking. "He used to be... but not any more. Back when he was younger, he was kind, like how an older brother would look after his younger siblings, but as we grew up, I guess he just got tired of being my friend, so he's not my best friend anymore," he said quietly.

I felt his sadness. Rusty had felt as if he had lost something close to him, like when I thought that I had lost Kira... "If you really feel that way, then why don't you escape from this horrid place? It's not too late," I said.

Rusty shrugged. "I would like to if I was given the chance. But there's no way that I would make it out alive. You see, the thing with pirates is that once you join their crew, it is expected of you to swear your loyalty to them. If not, they will kill you without hesitation," he said.

I lowered my head. "I see.." I said quietly.

Rusty opened his mouth as if he wanted to say more when the metal door was thrown open. He looked up in surprise as another rugged pirate came in. "Yuuna wants da blonde lass," he sneered. "Mackenzie, bring 'er," he added.

Rusty gave me an apologetic look, but helped me up as he wearily brought me over as if it was against his will. "I'm sorry Cagalli, but I can't disobey," he said sadly as I gave him a sad smile saying it was okay.

The older pirate grabbed my arm tightly with a rough hand. "Mackenzie, yer duty's waitin' fer ya," he ordered.

Rusty gave the others a small smile before bowing his head towards the pirate. "Yes sir," he said and left.

This brutal man slammed the door shut and dragged me up the hallway. I struggled against him, but it was no use. This big guy was much stronger than I. "Ya ain't gettin' away lass," he gave a smug smirk.

I winced as I felt my arm short-circuiting for loss of blood as the hand that grabbed me pressed even harder. "Jeez! Cut me some slack will you?! It's not like I'm going to run away and leave my friends here! At least loosen that monsterous grip of yous!" I yelled as a few passing pirates laughed as they did their duties.

The ugly pirate gave me an evil grin. "Ya better not or else say goodbye to yer friends," he threatened before stopping outside a metal door.

"We're here," he said gruffly as he knocked loudly on the metal door.

I winced as the sound started to ring through my ears. Jeez... these people must all be deaf if they had to listen to metal banging every now and then. "Enter," said a cool voice and the man opened the door and thew me to the carpetted ground.

I landed front first as my hands were tied behind my back. "Leave us," came the cool voice and the metal door clanged again as it closed.

I struggled to get into a sitting position and when I finally did, I met the cold eyes of Yuuna. Immediately, I didn't like the distance between us and backed away. Yuuna chuckled as he stroked his face. I blinked as I noticed he had placed a bandage where I had cut him. "What do you want me for?!" I demanded angrily.

Yuuna gave me a smug smile as he got closer. "What do you think, my Princess," he asked.

I ignored him. "I demand that you release us!" I yelled.

He gave me a tsk-tsk sound. "We can't do that, sorry!" he said smugly.

I seriously wanted to punch this guy's ugly face! Only if my hands weren't tied! "Besides, I wasn't kidding about you being my slave. But that wasn't waht I brought you here for," Yuuna said. "My captain and I have been wondering why a group of teenagers suck as yourselves were on that island? Were you shipwrecked?"

I glared at him, daring not to speak the truth because I knew that our parents must have at least placed an enormous ammount on our heads, hoping to have us back. And I wasn't about to let him get that money that he did not deserve! "W-we were asked to survive out in the middle of nowhere without much equipment as training for a few weeks," I lied.

"Hmm?" Yuuna spun around. "And when were they supposed to pick you up?" he asked with his back facing me.

I blinked. How many days were we shipwrecked on that island? And including the time that we were at sea as well.. I didn't remember. "At the end of July," I said, as I tried to keep my voice from wavering.

"Is that so?" Yuuna said softly.

I nodded. Maybe he believed me? I was hoping against hope that he did. I began to believe when Yuuna gave me a small smile. But that hope vanished as Yuuna's face became twisted with fury. Without warning, he struck me hard against my cheek which sent me flying to the wall. I wanted to cry out in pain as my face felt it was on fire but I resisted because I knew that it would give him the satification of knowing that it had hurt so very much. "You bitch! It's no longer July! It's Mid-August!" he yelled.

I looked at him shocked. No way! It has been more than a month since the Archangel sank. And it would also mean that it had been a month that our disappearance with the Archangel would have been notified since we didn't show up at the tropical island where we were supposed to travel to. Does that mean that our parents had given up hope looking for us? I had believed that the reason that no one found us was because we were too far out and that it had only been a week or two. But I had no idea! "What are you gaping at?!" Yuuna demanded.

I blinked as I realised that I was staring at him with my mouth hanging slightly open. "That didn't hurt eh? Well how about this?" Yuuna challenged as he thew pieces of a broken cup at me.

I tried to move, but still a few pieces scratched me as I clumsily dodged. I felt blood running down my face but I didn't care. I was here all alone with a madman. Yuuna laughed evilly. "That's revenge for scarring my beautiful face!" he said.

"Well, I may have scratches, but at least it's not going to be a scar, unlike yours!" I yelled back, provoking him unconsciously.

Yuuna smirked coldy at me. "Y'know, you really aren't cute at all, you're quite the fiesty one aren't you? Actually, instead of making me hate you more, I think I liking you more and more," he said as he carassed my cheek.

I shivered as I turned my face away. "Well we sell all of your friends and only you are left, how about coming into bed with me?" he suggested coldly.

I stared at him through wide eyes as if he suggested that I should die. "DON'T TOUCH ME!" I yelled as I swung my legs.

My foot came into contact with his face and sent him flying onto his back. He was caught with surprise and was having difficulty getting back up. Immediately I took this chance to grab a piece of broken glass that was thrown at me and sawed through my ropes. In a few seconds, the rope came undone and I quickly took one of the swords that Yuuna had on his wall above the fireplace as decoration. I ran for it. I burst out of his room.

The noise attracted more pirates as they came from the lower decks. "Hey! Get 'er back 'ere!" one of them yelled as I ran and ran.

I went down to the lower levels as I tried out running them. There were at least 7 men behind me yelling at me. I panted heavily as I rounded the corner and kept on running. Unfortuantely for me, it was a dead end. The pirates laughed evilly. "Heh eh eh.. yer trapped lassie!" one of the cackled.

I gulped. I was so close! I held out my sword defensively but that made them laugh even more. "Not a good idea, lass, 'cuz we'll be pullin' da trigger," they said as they held out their revolvers.

I breathed heavily as I tried to swallow my fear. If that had caught me, what would they do to the others? No! I won't let that happen! But too late, the pirate crew already charged at me. I closed my eyes praying for some sort of miracle when I heard a loud metallic clang. I slowly opened my eyes to see a metal door crushing some unwanted pirates. I gasped.

"Kira! Dearka!" I cried out happily.

Then a third figure came out. "See? Perfect timing as usual right?" said the voice that I most wanted to hear.

"Athrun!" I cried as I ran into him.

Athrun held out his arms and wrapped his arms around me tightly. "Good to see you Cagalli," he said softly.

I released him and smiled. "Yeah!" I replied.

Athrun looked at me in shock. "Who did this to you?" he asked deathly quiet.

I blinked. Athrun touched my face gently, but it felt as if it was burning to me. I winced. "Nah, just got into some trouble," I lied, not wanting to drive him into berserker mode once more.

Athrun looked suspicious, but didn't press the matter. "Is your shoulder alright?" I asked urgently.

Athrun nodded. "I'm fine. It should heal soon," he said.

Dearka coughed. "Sorry to break the moment, but we got to rescue Mir and Lacus," he said.

Athrun and I blushed in embarassement. "Y-yeah.. right!"

We took off, trying to avoid as many pirates as possible. But as we rounded the corner, a group of pirates saw us. "There!" they yelled as they charged.

They each went for one of us, but we were caught up in surprise as they attacked. Athrun, Dearka and Kira were about to fend them off and I was able to as well, until they decided on a new plan; they all attacked me instead. One of them held a gun to my head. "If ya don't want yer gal to die, yer gonna hafta let us capture ya," he grunted.

Everyone froze. I stared in horror as the pirates were going to capture Athrun and the others again. It was just like the time when we were on the island and they had said that they would hurt Athrun if I ran. Athrun swallowed. It was a no win situation. If they ran for it, which they wouldn't, I would die. If they stay and got captured as well, there was zero chance of escape. But at least with the latter chance, we would all be together... As they were coming to tie his hands, a second miracle happened. Without warning something smashed against the head that held me prisonner. The pirate fell stone cold. This gave the pirates a big surprise as I saw someone wizz by and beat up the pirates.

I noticed the boy was around our age and had orange hair. "Rusty!" I cried out as he single-handedly defeated the pirates.

Rusty panted slightly and gave me a smile with a thumbs up. "Hey," he said.

Kira looked between us. "Who's this, Cagalli?" he asked on alert.

I held up my hands. "This is Rusty, a person who I befriended on this ship. Relax guys, Rusty won't harm us; he's been the nicest guy I've met on this ship so far," I explained.

Rusty blushed slightly at the comment, but then his face became serious. "I thought about what you said earlier and decided that I also have been kept prisoner aboard this ship. I long for freedom more than anything else. If I can help you escape, will you take me with you?" he asked.

I looked to Athrun and the other guys. I knew what my answer was. Rusty proved himself more than enough to convince me. "Athrun?" I asked.

Athrun looked grim for a moment, but then gave Rusty a smile. "Since you saved Cagalli and is a friend of hers, you have my permission to come along," he said.

I grinned. This was great! Rusty smiled also, but then frowned. "Terrific! I promise you, no matter what, I'll get you and your friends to safety! Now c'mon, we have to rescue the other two," he said as he took out the keys.

We nodded and headed for the room that confined Mirillia and Lacus with Rusty's help. As we descended the metal stairs and threw the door open, to our horror, Mirillia and Lacus were no where to be seen. I gasped. No! This couldn't be! "They must have escaped!" I said, trying to remain positive.

"Yeah, let's check the upper deck!" Kira agreed as he led us up.

As we opened the metal door to the upper deck and entered, we saw that it was completely empty. No one was there... until all of a sudden, the door closed. "Looking for someone?" said a cool voice.

We all spun around in an instant. There was Yuuna and the rest of the crew, some beat up and some not, holding a struggling Mirillia and Lacus in their hands as we stared with horror. "Game's over," he said as he held up a revolver_  
_

* * *

_Meanwhile... elsewhere..._ "Shiho! Are you mentally INSANE?!" roared a certain silver haired boy. 

Shiho shook her head seriously. "No, it may sound insane to you, but it is our only chance to save them and we must!" she said as she held up the remaining fuel in the survival lighter.

Yzak groaned. Must it really come to this? "I want to save the others as much as you, but if we fail, we are as good as dead and being dead, how helpful is that to Athrun and the others?" he demanded.

Shiho gave him a ghost of a smile. "That is why we cannot fail. And with me, you're not going to fail. Trust me on this," she said.

Yzak groaned again and eventually gave in. "You leave me with no choices! Always always always! Ugh! Fine! But_ if_ I die, I'm going to haunt you forever," he said.

Shiho grinned. "Fine by me, now bring me wood, _ALOT_ of wood,"

* * *

**A/N: Well that's it for this chapter! Sorry for the cliffie, but I'll try my best to update within the next following days before my trip which is in about 10 days or so. And now I would like to thank my reviewers who have at least reviewed once in this fic. Those who have reviewed more than 5 times are underlined.**

**Hades.Throne.Heiress,**** Kween of Roses, simply -v-, naiyobi, ewngpwngh, Justicez, Angelite Phoenix, Cag-chan, asucagalover-meyrinhater, cagalliyulathha, Girl Wonder 2005, cagalli-rox, akidarchangelprincess, rebagu, Samurai Girl 7, Mademoiselle, imuzuok, smartkidz, Mage 666, prisnicole, chibi0sapphire, caga2007, hakufan1, eternalx3, Ying Fa-chan, athrunxcagalli4evr and my anon people!**

**Sorry if I missed anyone, but that's what I got. Thanks very much for your support and ideas! Love you all:)  
**


	17. Desperate Measures

**A/N: Hi everyone! Thanks for all of your reviews and comments on the last chapter! This chapter is mostly a summary of everything that has happened, but some of the wording have changed to fit in. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own GS/GSD  
**

* * *

**Chapter 17: Desperate Measures**

The revolver was pointed at Mirillia. "You caused trouble and now you're going to pay for it," Yuuna sneered.

We stood there frozen, unsure of what to do. We couldn't move or else Yuuna would surely fire, killing Mirillia at such a close range.I breathed heavily as I thought of losing someone close to me. It was painful. It was like losing a part of myself.

I saw how terrified Mirillia was. She trembled with tears in her eyes, as if begging me to tell her what to do, but I couldnt; I was speechless for once. I didn't care about my own personal safety, but if I even moved a step, Mirillia could result in being shot,

I gritted my teeth painfully, hating the situation where the bad guys were going to win. I doubted that any of us were going to live.

As if on cue, I started to see memories that I had stored up in my mind_  
_

* * *

_It was before... before I thought I had lost Kira, my older twin brother... I was on the ground, crying out in pain as I held my ankle. I was sure that I had twisted it badly. "Cags! You okay?!" Kira asked in concern for his younger sister. _**(A/N: Well it's Tatsuya as well, but now since that Cagalli found out that Tatsuya and Kira are the same person, she calls him Kira) **

_I had cried out loud. "I-it h-h-hurts!!!" I yelled as tears ran down my face like a waterfall._

_Kira sat down next to me and gave a big sigh of exasperation. "Didn't I tell you to be careful?" he asked._

_I narrowed my eyes through my tears. "I-i'm in pain and y-you're making fun of me!!" I cried angrily._

_Kira laughed gently as he offered to carry me up the big hill that we always went to, and of course, I took his offer, afterall, it wasn't everyday when your older brother wasn't making fun of you and offering you a ride._

_I remember how beautiful I had thought the world to be, not knowing the actual truth... But back then, I was only 6, so what was to be expected? The ocean seemed to stretch on forever and the sunset was the most beautiful thing that I had ever saw. It's rays seemed to glow across the waves that were softly crashing onto the shore._

_"Do you like the ocean?" Kira had asked, stating the obvious as usual._

_I nodded, forgetting all of my pains, even my jealously. It was as if the water washed away everything and left me mezmorised, staring at the sea, unable to take my eyes off. "Yes," I whispered._

_Kira smiled. "Then one day, I'll take you out to sea," he promised as he took my pinky and held it._

* * *

Then the memory shifted to something else:

_It was a rainy day and everywhere you saw was water rushing downhill in a hurry. When I had came home, I was furious again as I horribly failed another test. I was the direct opposite of my brother, the genius. We were twins, but we couldn't be any more different. I was so mad that I swore I would break something if I had gotten the chance. And Kira had came downstairs, slightly ill, asking me if I wanted to go to the park outside with him, despite the horrible weather._

_I remember wondering if Kira was really that smart because our parents had given us strict instructions on not leaving the house unless it was an emergency. But regardless, I followed him to the park where the river became dangerous without my knowing. "Won't mom and dad get worried if they found you gone?" I had asked, feeling jealous that Kira was always the favorite child of everyone I knew._

_Kira had shrugged and laughed. "It's good to make them worry once in a while," he had said, making me stare at him._

_I had always wanted to be like him. Always... my parents never gave me a second glace and whatever I did wasn't good enough for them even though I had always tried my best. But it wasn't up to their satisfications. I had gotten many painful slaps across the face for speaking back and I remembered the pain of each one while Kira, the perfect child was never slapped. I felt the bottled negative feelings in me rise._

_I gripped my fists hard. "H-how could you do that?!" I demanded through clenched teeth._

_Kira had stopped laughing as he gave me a questioning look. "What?" he had asked, oblivious to the pain and suffering that I had been through._

_Tears had poured down my face as I looked at him bitterly. "I-i.. always wished to be like you! The perfect child that everyone wants! Mom and Dad care for you so much and yet you toy with them like this! How I wish that mother and father would even look in my direction, to praise me, to love me... But no! All of their attention is directed to you!" I had cried out._

_Kira looked completely shocked. "N-no.. Cagalli.. I-i di-" he never finished his sentence because I had interrupted._

_I shook with the hurt and the bitterness rising inside of me. "I HATE YOU! I WISH YOU COULD DISAPPEAR!" I had yelled as I gave him a hard shove._

_His face looked so hurt that I had realized that right behind him was the rushing river. "No!" I had yelled as I tried to pull his hand, but it was too late; my deed was already done._

_"Cagalli...I'm sorry..." I heard his last words before he fell into the water and disappeared as if my regretful wish had been granted._

* * *

I panted heavily. What was happening to me?! Why was I seeing my past memories?! Before I could think of anything else, more memories flew through me, like a movie:

_This time it was me, at the same age, only that Tolle was still with us. It was a sunny day as we approached the docks searching for the Archangel. I remember being really happy, not knowing what was going to happen as I stepped onto the Archangel. Not knowing how much pain and suffering I was going to go through. Mirillia and I had met up later with Tolle and Heine, who turned out that both were going to have their lives end because of this cursed trip._

_As I had looked out to the sea, letting the breeze blow through my hair, remembering the happy times I had with my brother, I had met Athrun, who became the most important person to me later on. My first impression was that he was a kind person and sometimes was a bit of a jerk, but I never knew what the two of us were going to end up being. I remembered being introduced to the people that were going to be the closest people in my life, closer even then my own friends at school. Then I remembered getting up for stupid chores thanks to Heine, waking us up early in the morning._

_I knew that we were going have to work aboard the Archangel, but I never knew that we had to wake up so early! And then that same night, we had pulled a prank on Heine, and even recording him falling into the pool that had made us laugh and laugh until we doubled over. But it was all gone a few days later when the Archangel sunk during a massive storm. People got injured and died. Those who died on the ship were Heine, Cap. Kisaka and the cook. I didn't know the three of them very well, but I still felt torn apart at their deaths. Because if you ever knew someone who died, even if not very close, you know that you're never going to see them ever again. Or ever have a conversation with them either._

_Surviving barely on a raft that used to be a cabin wall for countless hours nearly torn me apart, wondering if we were to die cruelly like this. But ironically, a storm that wrecked us, also saved us as it brought us to land, and not killing us either. I guess the man up in Heaven was merciful enough to let us live. _

_There, we had discovered others that had survived the wreck of the Archangel. Among those were Shiho, Yzak, Kira, Lacus and a hanging on Tolle with a serious burn that he had suffered when he saved Kira from being crushed by a falling beam back on the Archangel. With a few supplies, we even managed to make the best of it, by making a shelter and gathering bits of food to hang onto for a while. It was just like video game, but only, it was real. If you messed up, it was game over and that meant that you lost the chance to live._

_By then, Tolle's condition grew for the worst. It was killing him as he slept. "How are you feeling? Any better?" I had asked._

_Tolle knew by then that he wasn't going to make it, but he still remained his old-self to the very end. "N-no... I don't think I'm going to make it," he had spoken the truth. "B-but I don't mind dying..."_

_I remember being so angry with him being like this. I guess back then I couldn't believe what I was hearing. The Tolle that I had knew ever since elementary school was going to die? No way! But it was true... I knew it deep down that his time was up. That maybe was the hardest moment of my life as Tolle told me to tell Mirillia to keep on living even if he wasn't going to be there beside her and then died right there, with a smile on his face._

_I ran for it that night, with my bottled up sadness. And the one who helped me release it all was Athrun. I realized that I wasn't the only one who knew the meaning of grief and he was also the one who told me that it was okay to cry and release my feelings. He even held me as I did so, which was the most that anyone had ever did for me. I remember the pain that Mirillia had to go through with Tolle's loss but Dearka helped her overcome it as he told her that Tolle would always be looking after her even if he wasn't here. He was her pillar of support that got her through all of this and also the reason why Mirillia was able to smile again._

_Then I faced Athrun with horror. I never thought that I would be scared of Athrun, but I proved myself wrong. Athrun was no longer the person I knew and loved. He was like a possessed beast but despite that, I hugged him tightly, wanting it all to go away. On that same day, I found out that my brother was still alive and that boy was Kira, who ironically ended up on the same island as we did._ _And also when three sweet words were said to me._

_"I love you," _

* * *

The memories stopped as I blinked, seeing that no time was lost here. I breathed heavily as I was afraid to know why that was happening to me. I could remember recalling people say that when you were about to die, your life would fly through your mind, making you see everything important over again. Did that mean that I was going to die here? No! I will not die! And neither were anyone else! We have been through too much to lose everything here now! As I racked my brain for a plan, it turned out I didn't need one because beside me, Rusty gasped loudly, grabbing everyone's attention, including mine.

"L-look!" he yelled out in alarm.

Everyone turned their heads. I had thought he was bluffing until I looked and what I saw amazed me and frightened me a little as well. It was a gigantic mushroom cloud of smoke. Rusty was right; something in the distance was on fire, but that had to include a massive amount of land to create something that big. I swore that anyone who lived in Japan must have seen it.

The pirates were distracted as they kept pointing in amazement at the mushroom cloud, including Yuuna who held Mirillia prisonner.

Rusty used this chance and took action as he gave a mighty battle cry and sprang forth at Yuuna, with the element of surprise. He surprised everyone and Yuuna, without thinking released Mirillia while Lacus used this to her advantage as well. She big down hard in the arms of her holder, resulting him cry out in pain. "Kira!" she cried out.

"Lacus!" Kira yelled as he sprang forth to catch her in his arms.

Lacus clumsily ran to Kira while whimpering. Yuuna aimed his gun at Rusty who shoved him to the ground. "Why you-!" Yuuna cursed.

Rusty grunted. "You've gone far enough, dear friend. This is where you end!" he declared as Yuuna accidentally shot one of the pirates.

He fell down hard with blood pouring out of his body like a red river and leaking into the sea, creating a dark cloud underwater. Rusty and Yuuna fell to the ground, wrestling for the gun while some of the pirates tried to shoot Rusty but were afraid to hit Yuuna. "Whaddya think we should do?!" they demanded.

I quickly took note of this confusion and it resulted that these guys had low education if they couldn't even think for themselves. That gave us our cue; we attacked while they were still in the cloud of confusing. "We can win!" I yelled as we started our attack.

* * *

**A/N: Dun dun dun! You sorta know what Shiho and Yzak are doing don't you? More will be revealed in the next chapter which will be updated very soon (in about 5 days). Anyway, see y'all!**


	18. Battle

**A/N: Hey! This is the 2nd last chapter! I really quite happy with the results of this fic and that this fic is also twice as long as Distant Memories, my other fic because with that fic, it had 30 chaps with a number of words while with this one, which is 18 chaps so far, there is more words in this fic than that one. I understood that most of you skimmed the previous chapter and I'm okay with that. I just thought that I need to summarize a bit since that alot of anime seem to do that once in a while. Anyway, I won't keep you from reading!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own GS/GSD nor it's characters  
**

* * *

**Chapter 18: Battle**

_Meanwhile during all of that commotion and during the flashbacks: _"Oi! Shiho! **-cough-** Y-you're killing us!" wheezed a certain silver-haired boy as the scene in front of him grew larger and larger.

Shiho coughed and coughed. "K-keep at it! We g-got to keep going for a chance to save the o-others!" she ordered as she fanned the burning jungle.

Yzak felt tears going to his eyes. It was a bad idea, definitely! If I somehow survive this, I'm going to strangle her! "I-i think this is enough! **-COUGH- **T-there is a mountain of s-smoke!" he screamed.

Shiho painfully looked up. Yzak was right. Their progress was great. The smoke was so large that she was certain the people she hoped to come was definitely coming as she saw a swarm of flying objects in the distance. "G-get onto **-COUGH**- the s-shore!" she cried out as smoke invaded her throat.

Yzak didn't needed to be told twice. Together with Shiho, he ran onto the shore as the flying objects came closer. "H-helicopters!" he exclaimed. "So that was your plan!"

Shiho nodded. "Now as soon as they come closer, wave you arms and scream as loud as you can," she said.

Yzak scowled for a moment before nodding in comphrension_  
_

* * *

_Back to a certain boat_... As we fought on, I noticed that Mirillia was almost back to our side when a pirate noticed as well and threw a barrel at her. Mirilliia was able to dodge it thankfully. But it became worse as she was on the edge of the boat. The boat rocked and she lost her balance. I watched helplessly with horror as she cried out for help as she was thrown off the boat and plunged underwater. "Mirillia!" I screamed. 

She would not stand a chance! I had to save her! Mir couldn't swim and that wasn't it! The tropical seas were filled with sharks and just a moment ago, a pirate was shot and some of the blood had leaked through the gaps on the boat and into the sea which was definitly a shark-attracter.

I was about to go after her when some pirates attacked me and jumped on me. However, though I wasn't too clear on what happened, Dearka made a miracle happen as he suddenly gained an enormous ammount of strength and skillfully, single-handedly took out 8 pirates with his barehands.

Then yelling out Mirillia's name, he jumped off the side and dove into the water after her. The object was filled with broken objects like broken planks of wood, but Dearka skillfully avoided them and took a deep breath before having water surround him.

"Dearka!" I cried out as I fought.

Athrun who was at my backside panted heavily. He had just knocked out another pirate and this time was able to get a gun without having too much damage inflicted on himself. "H-he'll be okay; he's a great s-swimmer," he said through clenched teeth.

He dove deeper and deeper, struggling to keep his eyes open to the salty sea. It was burning and he really felt it. But at that moment, nothing was more important to him than Mirillia's safety. He loved her with his heart. Dearka didn't care if he feelings weren't returned, but he couldn't give up hope. Hope was his strength that he felt and he wasn't going to give up.

He hoped that maybe one day, Mirillia would come to see him more than just a friend, but he would never know if Mirillia didn't survive. As the water grew colder and deeper, Dearka swam faster and faster, worried for her safety. Soon he saw a body slowly sinking gracefully and knew that that body belonged to her. But he had to hurry because not only was he begining to lose air, he knew that he and Mirillia would look quite tasty to some large fish.

Kicking his legs harder than ever, he went under her and held her in his arms. Her face was as beautiful as ever, though she was pale. A stream of bubbles left her mouth and that told him that she wasn't going to live if he didn't hurry. Dearka held her close to his body, giving her some heat from his body to her own as he began to swim upwards.

He ignored the groups of fish that swam around them and only focused on getting to the top. He felt that his head was going to explode due to lack of air, but he didn't give up. He wasn't going to let someone down either. His eyes began to blur things, but Dearka ignored them. He kept on going and going until he surfaced. He gasped for air, taking in plentiful at a time and laying Mirillia onto a piece of broken wood. Even though he didn't take as much as he need to, he gave whatever he had to the girl he loved by placing his mouth on hers.

Forgive me, I'm not Tolle... but even if I don't survive, I'm make sure that you will... the thoughts went through his head before he blacked out_  
_

* * *

_Back to the conflict on the boat..._

We were surrounded. No matter how many people we took out, there were always more to replace the ones lost. I noticed Kira and Lacus weren't having much luck either. Lacus was still slightly ill and couldn't defend herself. They were surrounded. But all of a sudden, a loud gun shot was heard along with a loud cry of pain. "Rusty!" I yelled.

Rusty was on the ground, bleeding like a fountain as he was shot close to a vital organ. He held his chest with agony. Yuuna, whose face reminded me of a cold-blooded killer grinned evilly. "Thought you could get away from me, eh Baby?" he said as he came closer to me.

I stood in alert as I held up my sword for defence. "Your face isn't as pretty now that I cut it," he said.

He was referring to my face where he had thrown a broken cup at me earlier which cut me in many places. I grunted. "I bet it still hurts doesn't it? You pitiful girl," he said coldly.

I breathed heavily as I tried to maintain my anger. I felt a murderous aura, but soon I realized that it didn't belong to me. It had belonged to Athrun. "Athrun!" I called out his name.

His eyes lost his usual look and began to turn cold. They were murderous eyes, without hesitation to kill. The day that he had first shown me what he was capable showed up in my eyes. He had single-handedly taken down a full grown adult boar with extremely long and heavy tusks. And to make matters worse, it had seemed as if he had enjoyed killing the boar and slicing it up to bits and pieces. He had scared me and now I was scared once more. "Athrun!" I yelled, trying to get him to come back to normal, but unfortuantely for me, he didn't respond.

He roared as he attacked Yuuna full on, without any weapons. Yuuna took aim and shot, but missed as Athrun jumped into the air and bashed him across the face with his fist. Yuuna yelped as he was thrown hard to the ground. But he stood back up, holding his face only with his eyes full of anger. "I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" he screamed as he pulled out a half-an-arm length dagger and charged at Athrun.

Athrun side-stepped him, but he wasn't fast enough. He grunted as his good arm was slashed and blood splattered around him. Athrun held his arm panting heavily. "Athrun!" I cried out as I saw blood running down his arm.

No response as he charged at Yuuna, shooting with deadly accuracy. Yuuna screamed as he felt a bullet go through his flesh. He held his right arm with his good hand. "Bastard! You'll pay for that!" he cursed as he charged at Athrun with the deadly dagger in his hand.

A slash of blood was seen until the scene switched_  
_

* * *

_With Lacus and Kira: _Kira held Lacus behind him as he also gained possession of a gun from a fallen pirate. Lacus took a shard intake as she saw that they were surrounded. "Don't worry, Lacus, I'm here," Kira said gently as he stood ready. 

As soon as the words came out of his mouth, the pirates attack the two, like a pack of hyenas. Shielding Lacus, Kira skillfully shot a pirate in the arm, not wanting to kill the pirate, only wanting to stop him. Then Kira jumped to his right food and pivoted as he went left and punched someone hard in the face making them stagger.

At the same time, Kira proved his coordinator skills when he threw a back kick low to the knee, beaking the kneecap of an unfortunate man. He cried out in pain as he held his knee, cursing loudly. The remaining pirates stepped back slightly as they stared at the super-coordinator in fornt of them with wonder. **(A/N: Yeah the pirates are all naturals except for Rusty and the captain since naturals are more plentiful than coordinators)**.

Kira panted heavily while many cuts were found on him; his face, his arms, his chest and his left leg. Lacus who was behind him looked at him worriedly. Then she gasped as she saw someone form the mast with a revolver aimed directly at Kira's head. Seeing that they were about to shoot, Lacus cried out, "Kira!"

She jumped and pushed Kira away to the side, resulting in the target being missed but at a price. Lacus whimpered as a pool of blood was starting to form underneath her. Her clothes, that were in the best condition of them all while they were on the island became stained dark red. Kira recovered immediately. "Lacus!" he shouted her name with ferocity.

The pirates took this chance to being their attack again. Kira stood up with his bangs covering his eyes. When he lifted his face, he looked murderous and serious. He wasn't about to forgive the lot of them for their actions. "Ah!" Kira gave a shout as he started his attack.

_You attacked Lacus... I'm NEVER going to forgive you!_

* * *

_Flashback: "Kira, I want you to meet Lacus, a close friend of mine," a six-year-old Athrun said._

_Kira blinked as he stared at the petite girl in front of him. She had long, flowing pink hair that must felt like silk if anyone had felt it. She had big innocent blue eyes that seem to have a tiny voice that said hi. She also smelled flowers, as if she had spent her whole time around them. "Helly Kira, I'm Lacus. Pleasure to meet you," she said as she gave him a little curtsie._

_Kira nodded. "Y-yeah.. it's nice meeting you," he said quickly as he realised that he had been staring at her._

_Her voice was smooth and angelic like the angels. Kira doubted that anyone in the world could have a voice like heres. He liked her immediately. "U-uh.. here! Athrun had told me that he was going to have a friend over so I uh.. got some chocolates," he stammered as he held out a little red box. "H-hope you like white chocolate,"_

_Lacus smiled at him. "Thank you very much, Kira. I love white chocolate," she had said so kindly that it made Kira's insides melt._

_Some time later, Kira walked slowly to the park. It was a beautiful day, but he wasn't feeling too cheerful. He dumped his backpack onto the sandy ground and sat on the swing, though he wasn't swinging. He sniffled sadly as he wondered what his parents would think if they knew he knew? "I don't want to leave..." he said quietly as he felt tears run down his face._

_"Kira? Is that you?" an angelic voice asked out of no where._

_Kira looked up startled and wiped his face immediately. "Lacus!" he said with surprise._

_Lacus looked at him worriedly. "Why are you crying? Are you feeling sick?" she asked with concern in her voice that reminded Kira of his adoptive parents._

_"No, I'm fine," Kira plastered on a fake smile._

_Lacus touched his face gently with her fingertips, making Kira's face tingle with warmth. "No, you're not... or else you wouldn't have been crying. Tell me, Kira, what's wrong?" she said._

_Kira turned his eyes away. He wanted to tell her, but what would she think? "I promise not to tell anyone," Lacus said._

_Kira looked into her eyes and saw that she meant what she said. The urge to tell her was too great for him to keep bottled inside so he started to speak. "I-i don't think my parents want me anymore..." he said sadly._

_Lacus looked at him with a strange look. "What do you mean?" she asked. "Why wouldn't they want you?"_

_Kira looked at her sadly. He couldn't keep this secret of his anymore. He had to tell someone and he felt that Lacus was most suited to listen. He took a deep breath. "My parents aren't my real parents... they sort of adopted me I guess. Let's just make things short when I say that I had lost my memories temporarily and now I've regained them; both now and the memories of the past. The thing is, I love my parents, my birth-parents and my adoptive parents, but I feel more like myself when I'm with my adoptive parents. I want to stay with them, but I'm afraid that if they knew that I remember who I was, they wouldn't want me as their child anymore," he explained._

_Lacus sat next to me on the swing set. "If you love them then that must mean that they've given you a reason to do so. That would also mean that they love you also. Sure, you remembering everything will be a bit of a shock for them, but they love you, so they would want the best for you. But I think that your adoptive parents will be more worried about you leaving them. Afterall it is your choice and they respect your decisions. But I say that you should go home and have a big talk with them to sort out your mixed feelings," she said._

_Kira looked up and gave her a smile. And this time he meant it. He was right when he knew that Lacus was the right person to talk to. "Thank you very much Lacus, you've helped me a lot," he said gratefully._

_Lacus smiled her angelic smile. "Actually, I should thank you as well for letting me know more about yourself. People are always afraid to let our their inner selves because they are afraid on what other people might think of them, but I've found that you truly are a good person and that Athrun and I are lucky to have you as a friend," she said making Kira blush at her comment. "Well, I'll see you later then and I wish you luck!" she added as she got up._

_Kira nodded as he ran home. It turned out that Lacus was right about everything. His parents were shocked of course, but they asked him if he had wanted to return back to his real home instead of forcing him to go. But he had replied without any regrets, "This is my real home..." and that had summed up everything as his mother weeped happily as she and her husband held onto their son tightly._

* * *

End of flashback. Kira breathed heavily as a group of fallen pirates that were too beatened up to move were gathered at his feet. Thoughout the whole time he was fighting, his love for Lacus was strong and it filled him up. It made everyone seem as if they were in slow motion and that was the reason why Kira was able to fight with ease. As soon as he saw that they were all defeated, his thoughts turned to one girl. "Lacus!" he called out. 

He ran to her, holding her gently, careful not to hurt her. It seemed that she got shot near her stomach. "Hang on!" he yelled as he ripped whatever remains of his shirt and used it as a bandage for her wound.

Lacus gave him a small smile. "K-kira.. you did it," she said weakily.

Kira nodded as he took her hand. "Yes, but Lacus, you have to hang on, for me," he said softly.

Lacus nodded as she understood what he was saying. "I-i know... I love you Kira," she whispered as her eyes closed.

"Lacus!" Kira yelled in panic because he had thought that he had lost her until he noticed that she only fainted to the loss of blood.

Then he quickly realised the he wasn't the only one fighting and turned his eyes to the front. But what he saw amazed and horrified him

* * *

**A/N: Well that's that! I decided to give Kira a bit more background info on how he started to like Lacus and everything. Also, even though it wasn't originally planned, Kira went into SEED Mode after seeing that Lacus had gotten injured. Athrun's battle results will be found out in the next chapter, but also, as some of you might have thought: The captain hasn't fought yet and what happened to Mir and Dearka? Find out in the next to last chapter! Update will be on Mon.**


	19. Final Blitz

**A/N: Wow! One more chapter to go! Wheee! Thanks for all of your reviews!!! I can't believe I reached more than 100 reviews on this fic! Yah yah I know it ain't much, but I'm not so good at writing so I'm really happy! Anyway, I won't keep ya from reading!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own GS/GSD and nor it's characters either **

* * *

**Chapter 19: Final Blitz**

I gasped as I saw blood everywhere leaking from a body that laid on the ground motionless. His purple hair was unruly and didn't ressemble his previous self. His side was slashed opened by a dagger. Athrun stood in front, panting slightly as he held the weapon with blood trickling down. I was breathless at his tactics:

As the two charged at each other, Athrun immediately side-stepped with lightning speed and took hold of the dagger as Yuuna ran past him. Then he thrust it into his side and cut it open just underneath his rib cage where some important internal organs were found. It was all in slow motion to me as I saw blood spill out of the man like a waterfall, dying the deck with blood and the fall, but just barely alive pirates.

And now that very same man was desperately holding onto the cliff that he was falling off of; the cliff which connected him with life and death. If he lost his grip on that cliff, he would die immediately. I stared in horror as I saw Yuuna was trying to breathe but with great difficulty. It reminded me of a fish that was out of the water, having all of its' oxygen stripped from him. It was almost cruel and Athrun still had that murderous glint in his eyes as he smirked cruelly.

He raised the dagger, ready to plunge it into Yuuna's skull while still being alive to witness the pain. I knew immediately that I had to stop him no matter what Yuuna had caused. Yuuna was a vile man and he was also curel. He helped sell countless of slaves and hurt so many. But still, he didn't deserve to die; no one ever did. Life is very precious; it is beautiful, yet delicate. If you were to ever lose it, you will never be able to get it back because that was the end. You only get once chance; screw it up and it's all over. But that wasn't the only reason why I ran in front of Athrun, shielding the miserable, pitiful Yuuna with my arms held out.

The times that I had shared with Athrun were only a month long, but within my heart, it had seemed like an eternity. Funny, I had never met him before this cursed trip that led to so many tragic deaths, but in a way which may have seemed selfish, I was also grateful. For this chance to know him almost as well as I knew myself; to help him and to love him. He was always tehre beside me whether I had bothered to look or not. He was there if I needed it or not. That was why I couldn't let him kill this man; for _love_.

Not only would it mean a life that is lost and will never return, but Athrun would also be robbed of freedom and joy if we were to escape. He would be framed as a murderer and he really wasn't. Athrun was a kind boy (one of the kindest people that I have ever met) who took the time and role to understand others and be there for them. Athrun hated to fight and detested violence. He would avoid it at all costs, making it for the last resort. That was the Athrun I knew and came to love.

But this boy in fornt of me that ressembled exactly like him wasn't. He took pleasure in the cries of others and kills at every chance he gets. I knew by his murderous smile that he enjoyed every little bit of pain that he cause without feeling any guilt or remorse.

I had heard a faint voice; a cry for help that belonged to Athrun, the one that I knew. It came from within, begging me to stop him because he didn't want things to be like this. Tears started to flow down my face as I face him. "Athrun! Please stop!" I cried out, making him pause, but he didn't lower the dagger at all.

"I know this isn't the real you! I can't stand to see you like this! Please come back... Come back to me! ATHRUN!" I yelled out his name.

Athrun just stood there in front of me as he lowered his dagger. I held my breath as he began to pulse. Slowly at first, but then they grew bigger and faster until it all stopped moments later. "Athrun?" I said in a small voice which sounded like a lost child.

Athrun slowly raised his head and the bangs that covered his eyes uncovered them. My eyes widened in surprise as I saw the familar warmth that they stored in them. He was back! Athrun dropped the dagger and it hit the floor with a thud. "Athrun!" I yelled as I ran into his arms.

"Cagalli..." he said as he held me tightly. I couldn't help it; I cried into his chest while his t-shirt soaked up my tears. "A-athrun...!" I sobbed.

Athrun laid a hand on my hair as he gently carassed it. "I'm so sorry, Cagalli.." he said regretfully as he realized what he had done.

I shook my head several times, back and forth while in his embrace. "T-that doesn't matter anymore... you're back," I said.

Athrun nodded. "Yes, and it was all thanks to you," he said lovingly.

While I was in his arms, it had seemed that time had stopped. At last, my voice was able to reach him. I stopped crying and a smile crept across my face because I was glad that Athrun came back. But we had forgotten something; we weren't finished yet.

"Whadda moment, but it ain't finished, y'know?" said a gruff voice.

Every head turned to the upper deck; it was the captain. He took out a revolver that was completely different from the other ones. It was bigger and looked more deadly than the others. He aimed it straight at us. Athrun and I gasped as we felt that we were about to be goners as the captain shot. Athrun held me close as if saying, 'if we are to die, I want to die with you.' We shut our eyes so tight that everything was pitch black.

We stood there with clenched teeth waiting for it to be all over, but as I could feel Athrun's heartbeat beating hard, I knew that we were still standing. "What?" I breathed as Athrun slowly released me.

"Da target ain't yeh, tis him," the giant said with a hint of amusement as he nodded his head towards someone behind us.

Immediately, I whipped my head around to see that Yuuna was no longer alive; he had lost that grip on the cliff. "He's... dead..." I could barely say those words.

"How could you do that?! To your own teammate!?!" Athrun roared with fury to the giant as he casually walked down the steps to where we were.

The captain laughed evilly. "'E lost. 'e doesn't deserve ta live," he answered.

His laugher stopped as he faced us seriously. "'N now, yer gonna be next," he said.

Immediately Athrun held me behind him, leaving me in shock. "Athrun..." I said worriedly.

He turned his head slightly and gave me a small smile. "It'll be okay," he promised.

The pirate captain snickered as he came closer. "Lass yeh better get away 'o else I ain't gonna hesistate to hurt yeh," he warned showing off a lot of missing teeth.

I looked back and forth between the captain and Athrun. I couldn't leave Athrun like this! Besides, he was already injured from his last battle. His arm was badly cut and blood was still dripping. I was better off than he was, maybe I should fight instead? But a voice interrupted my mixed thoughts. "Cagalli, please listen to him. I don't want you to get hurt," Athrun said from in front of me.

"B-but-" I started to say but got interrupted. "No buts! You'll only get in my way, now go!" he said.

I flinched at the tone of his voice, but I need it would be better if I got out of his way. The captain picked up the sword that I had dropped and tossed it to Athrun. "'ere, we're gonna see who's da best at this," he said as he withdrew his own sword, which was quite elegantly made with a golden guard.

It was heart-wrenching at the thought of the possiblity of Athrun not surviving the battle, but I quickly shook the thought out of my head. I had to have faith in him. "Cagalli!" called a voice out of the blue.

I quickly spun my head to the sound of alert. It was Kira and he was bending down next to an unconscious Lacus and a badly wounded Rusty. I gasped as I had totally forgotten them. "Lacus! Rusty!" I yelled as I ran over.

Rusty was still heavily bleeding as Kira helplessly tried to end it, but to no sucess. Immediately I ripped off part of my capris so that they became shorts and press it lightly over Rusty's chest. Rusty cried out immediately even though I applied little pressure. "Just hold on!" Kira cried out as he cleaned the blood away from Rusty's chest as we tried to find the wound.

I gasped as I saw where the bullet had been targetted. It was very close to Rusty's heart. I exchanged uneasy glances with Kira as we both knew Rusty was in grave danger despite being a coordinator. We had to get the bullet out but it was quite deep. I gulped as I knew we could just see it and had to get it out. It would hurt like hell and not to mention that if we messed up, Rusty would die. But then if we didn't, Rusty would die anyway. "G-go f-for i-it..." came a cracked voice.

I spun my head as I looked to the red-head. He gave me a ghost of a smile. He wanted us to take out the bullet. Kira lowered his head. "We have to, Cagalli.." he said quietly as I nodded painfully.

"I'll take it out," I said deathly quiet.

Kira cocked his head. "Are you sure? I can do it if you don't want to," he said.

I nodded my head. "I'm sure, Kira just hold his hands down," I instructed.

Kira nodded as I took a knife from a fallen pirate. I quickly cleaned it as I held it over Rusty's chest. I gulped as I slowly lowered it down to the wound. "Rusty, I'm sorry," I whispered as the knife got closer and closer.

I swallowed hard as beads of sweat dampened my face as I knew that I had to 'dig' it out. "I'm going for it now!" I said as I dipped the tip of the knife under the bullet.

Rusty screamed and tried to shake me off but Kira held onto him tightly. His screams were full of pain and it echoed within my ears. It was a bloodcurling scream. "Rusty! I'm so sorry!" I yelled as I turned the tip getting the whole bullet.

"Hurry Cagalli!!" Kira shouted as I knew he couldn't hold Rusty from moving any longer.

I quickly turned the knife and got the bullet out. Rusty took deep breaths trying to prevent sound coming from his throat again as we quickly bandaged his wound again, trying to prevent injuring him any longer.

I also took deep breaths as I couldn't believe what I had done. I was so scared that I would have accidentally killed him and his screams made me wanted to stop. Kira held me very brotherly. "It's okay now, Cagalli.You did it," he said.

I nodded in shock. But I moved out of Kira's arms as I forced my eyes to look at the battle that was going on during the 'operation'. The captain and Athrun were moving at fast paces as they charged back and forth, with their swords clashing. But with the forces against each other's sword, they pushed away panting. I watched worriedly as I saw Athrun was in worse shape than the pirate was; Athrun was injured while the captain was still fine.

The pirate charged again at Athrun who held his sword on the defence. I could see him gritting his teeth in frustration as he tried to block his attacks. The pirate suddenly threw a side cut and caught Athrun off guard, knocking him off his feet. "Athrun!" I cried out as I saw him fall to the ground.

Athrun grunted a he got back up, but holding his side, that was starting to bleed. _Let me help you..._

Athrun stopped. Where did that voice come from? _I can defeat him..._ Athrun's eyes widened as he felt his heart started to pulse. No! He was going into SEED again! He can't let this happen. Then I noticed as he glanced in my direction with a painful look on his face. "Athrun!" I called out, worried because he was acting strangely.

"No! I won't let you! I.. can.. do.. this!" Athrun choked out the last few words heavily.

I whispered his name as I saw that he was able to gain control once more and then Athrun attacked, throwing hard overhead thrusts and then sidecuts, but no success. Then an idea formed into his head as he threw the sword at the pirate's foot, which he barely dodged and then uppercutted the pirate as the pirate looked down at the abandoned sword. It caught him off guard and sent the pirate onto his back, cursing.

"Yer pretty good, I give yeh that much, but yer gonna lose!" the pirate declared as he got back up to my dismay.

Athrun breathed heavily as I saw that he was losing stamina. I looked around frantically, looking for something that I could help Athrun with, but nothing! Even if I had tried to do anything, I might accidentally get Athrun by mistake by the way that they were moving. I wanted to yell out in frustration but that wouldn't do anyone any good. But then I suddenly looked up as I saw something out of the corner of my eye.

It was like a swarm of bees, though they weren't bees I could tell that much. They were much, much bigger and were coming at a fast pace. "K-kira... look up at that!" I pointed upwards towards the grey sky.

Kira turned his head and his eyes widened. "Is that-? No.. it couldn't be!?" he stammered.

I gave him a questionning look. "What do you think that is?" I asked as I saw Kira laugh happily.

Kira turned to me with excitement and happiness in his eyes. "Let's just say that we're not going to be here any longer if my guess is correct; help is on it's way,"

Athrun and the pirate fought back and forth evenly. By now, even the pirate sustained many injuries to Athrun's cunning techniques while Athrun was able to keep the same number of injuries from before without getting any newer ones. Then all of a sudden, the pirate thrust the sword at Athrun's legs, tripping him and making him fall. And even worse was the fact that the sword that Athrun had as a weapon was now out of his hands.

The pirate cackled evilly as we all stared in horror as he held the sword above Athrun, ready to kill him. "Yer lost," he said as I screamed.

I shut my eyes, with tears about to spill. I couldn't stand to see Athrun die so cruelly at these hands. But as I did so, I heard a gun shot. "Rusty!" I heard Kira yell and I opened my eyes quickly.

There, Rusty who was about three feet away from us, who was on his stomach, clutching a gun weakily, had shot the pirate in the back. The pirate stood still for a moment before turning around and threw the sword as he fell. Rusty cried out in pain and the sword got him in the side, underneath the rib cage. Blood was splattered everywhere as the pirate screamed in agony as he fell hard.

Athrun breathed heavily as he saw that the pirate, who was on the ground motionless, had died. He quickly got back up and saw who had finished him off. "Rusty!" all of us cried as we rushed over to the boy.

By now, Rusty laid on his back as blood trickled down the corner of his mouth. Kira gently lifted him up, so that Rusty was almost in a sitting position. "R-rusty!" Iyelled as I knew that no matter how many miracles there were, he was going to die.

Rusty gave a dry chuckle. "S-seems... like t-the end.. for me, e-eh?" he said painfully.

I shook my head, not wanting to believe it. "P-please! Please don't say that!" I yelled as tears were begining to form. "Y-you're a hero! You can't leave us!"

Rusty looked surprised for a moment. "H-heh...a hero.. huh?" he said but then he smiled. "T-thanks for everything.. Cagalli. I'm now free... thank you..." his voice drifted into the air as his eyelids began to close.

"Rusty!" I cried out as Athrun held me close with his good arm.

I sobbed again, seeing how another life was now gone, and such a pure life as well. Rusty was just like Tolle; they were both kind.. but their fates were the same when they died. Kira's hand was on my shoulder trying to comfort me when he suddenly heard a sound and looked up. His eyes widened like saucers and gasped. "L-look! We're... saved!" he breathed.

Immediately, as soon my tears dried, I heard a whizzling sound and I looked upwards. My eyes widened as I saw several helicopters in the sky and that wasn't all; on the helicopter in the front, with the sliding door opened, I could see Shiho and Yzak waving at us and calling our names!

After that things were sort of a blur to me when they rescued us. I remembered seeing a soaked-to-the-skin Mir along with an unconscious Dearka who was breathing from an oxygen tank and a worried Shiho and Yzak. "W-what? B-but how?" Athrun had asked when they treated his wounds.

"Remember that mushroom smoke cloud?" Shiho asked.

Athrun nodded. "Well that was us! The island was on fire. We knew that it would be able to be seen from across Japan so that way, we could get help and rescue you guys," Shiho had explained excitedly.

Yzak scowled. "Sure it worked, but in the process, we were ALMOST toasted alive!" he grumbled.

Shiho shrugged apologetically. "Once the helicopters spotted us, we had told them that pirates had burned the island while not knowing that we were on it and kidnapped a few of our friends. Immediately, they sent out for more people to extinguish the fire while another took us to find you," she had explained.

"While looking for you, we noticed debree in the water and on a closer look, we found Mir and Dearka! Dearka was already unconscious due to lack of air, but Mirillia was able to get Dearka onto the chopper when we lowered it," Yzak added.

Mirillia gave us a smile. "It was all Dearka really. I was the one who fell off the boat and Dearka dove to save me. Even though at that time I wasn't conscious, I could hear Dearka's thoughts somehow as he called out my name. And with his strength and hope, he was able to bring me back to the top before he fainted. By then, I regained my consciousness and was able to get him to safety," she said.

I nodded numbly as I never before felt so tired. I looked over to Lacus who was also being treated as well as Kira and Athrun. And next to them was Rusty's dead body. The other choppers had taken the pirates that were dead and those who were not, but we had argued to take Rusty with us. "I'm been meaning to ask," Shiho said as she tilted her head to Rusty's body. "Who is that?"

Everyone lowered their head in sadness and it was silent. But then I broke it. "A hero and a friend that will never be forgotten," I said in a whisper before my eyelids dropped, making my world pitch black.

I had a sweet dream of where we were still on the island and I was dreaming that we were captured by modern-day pirates where we had to fight them. And then after every tiring battle, we were rescued by helicopters that were to bring us home, but then a rocky movement woke me up from my beautiful dream. "Where am I?" I murmured sleepily.

A voice that was close replied, "On the chopper, remember?"

I was fully awake by then realizing that everything I had dreamed wasn't a dream at all; it was real. My head was on Athrun's lap and I saw that he was fully treated and that all of his injuries had bandages. I sat up. "So where are we going?" I dared to ask.

Athrun smiled, an understanding one. And then said three words that I never thought that I would ever hear through all of our hardships. "We're going home," he said softly as a single tear fell from my face and I hugged Athrun tightly, full of happiness

* * *

**A/N: Heh, I guess I sorta did count on another miracle to get them home... oh well, miracles can happen once in a while, y'know? If you noticed, Athrun fought this last battle without having to go into SEED and was able to win because of that. Well anyway, I'm gonna go on my trip tonight so my last chapter will be updated in a while. The last chapter is pretty much the afterwards to end everything. So if you don't want to wait, I'll say thanks for reading, but I hope you'll wait for my return!**


	20. Afterwards

**A/N: I'm back! Whoot! I wrote while on vacation, so as soon as I got back, I began typing it out! Finally the last chapter! Also, I added the summary of the next fanfic! Hope y'all enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own GS/GSD and the idea came from a series called Island by Gordon Korman, which the ideas I used were the island, and the sinking boat. Other than that, I changed it completely I think.  
**

* * *

**Chapter 20: Afterwards**

When I opened my eyes I had found myself at a different place. It was white and very clean and also had that familar smell of medication liquids. I sat up immediately on the bed and felt my face. It had been bandaged at all the places where it was cut. I blinked as I leaned over to the side and climbed out of bed. Then I ran for it. I was in a hospital. I HATED hospitals! I hated everything about the place; the people, the cleaness and worst of all, the **MEDICATION**! Those included shots as well! People gave me surprised looks as I, with a panicked expression, ran down the hall. I ran down the stairs and turned the corner when I hit something. "Ugh.. what did I bump into?" I mumbled.

"You should be in bed, not roaming around freely," said a familar voice.

I looked up in surprise to meet emerald orbs glancing down at me. "C'mon sis, we're bringing you back to bed," said another voice behind the first.

I watched with a stunned expression as Kira, my brother, came out from behind Athrun. "Kira? Athrun? What are you-? HEY! Put me down!" I changed my tone halfway through the sentence as Athrun picked me up bridal style.

"I knew you always hated hospitals ever since we were little and I doubted that fact would change so..." Kira said, emphaising the last word.

"So we went out to look for you while taking a shortcut. And well.. we found you and I'm taking you back to bed. You need your rest," Athrun finished.

I struggled but to no avail. Athrun was a lot stronger than he appeared to be. Well I guess that was to be expected of him right? Afterall he was able to defeat the pirate captain with some help from Rusty who well... I stopped struggling as I thought of what had happened not only to Rusty but the Archangel's crew as well. I looked upwards at Athrun. "Both you and Kira sustained bigger injuries than me, shouldn't _you guys_ be in bed?" I questionned.

Kira gave me a smile. "Oh don't worry about us; we're coordinators and we tend to heal a lot faster than you. Besides, words just got to our parents and they're coming ASAP," Kira added.

My eyes widened at the mention of our parents. It had been almost forever since I've last seen them and a little while back, I had almost lost hope. And so, I agreed to go back without too much fuss. A little while later, as the news were already all over Japan about us being the "Archangel's survivors" we had annoying reporters from all over trying to interview us. Especially Athrun and Lacus since their fathers were both in the top positions of the supreme council. But thankfully and even I am a little grateful, this is a hopstial, so the nurses told them to come back later after our parents came.

The 8 of us gathered in the main hallway on the second floor as we waited eagerly to see some familar faces. "Lacus!" called a deep male voice.

Everyone's head turned towards the voice as they saw a whole group of families coming from the elevator. "Father!" Lacus cried as she ran to give her father a tight hug.

As the other parents called their children's name, we all ran into the arms of the ones we loved, some crying and some near tears. I looked around to see some familar faces but frowned when I didn't see them. I was about to sit back down, disappointed when someone called out my name. "Cagalli!"

I whipped my head around. My eyes widened for a moment before becoming a little misty. "Mother! Father!" I yelled as my parents envelopped me in a tight hug.

"We're so sorry for being late; there were a whole mob outside," said Ulen Hibiki.

I laughed as I knew that he had meant those crazy reporters. "I-i missed you guys a lot... y-you probably thought I was never coming back huh?" I asked, trying to keep my voice from wavering.

Via shook her head as her eyes were brimmed with tears. "After we lost one child, we couldn't bear to lose hope on you, Cagalli.. you mean the world to us," she spoke.

Ulen nodded. "We knew that you'd be okay, afterall, someone with your stubborness and hard-headedness will always be alright," he added whie I gave him a glare but failed miserably and laughed instead.

We were all happily united with our families, all but two: one who didn't have a family and the other who truly believed that he was unwanted. Baby blue eyes looked happily at her friends, for they all had a family, but she couldn't help feel a little sad because her parents were no longer here. Of course she had been invited to stay with some families, but she knew that she didn't really belong with them. Mirillia was lost in her own world until she noticed a shadow in front of her. "Dearka?" she questionned as looked up to find the tanned blonde. "What's up?" this is st

Dearka looked slightly nervous as he shifted the weight onto one foot. "Uh.. m-mom, dad... this is Mirillia. I befriended her on the trip and it turned out that with this experience, she is a closer friend to me than some of my friends here and I er.. wanted you to meet her," Dearka stammered as a red blush was evident of his face.

Mirillia looked at him in surprise before bowing her head politely. "Hello, Mrs and Mr Elthsman, it's a pleasure to meet you. I'm really happy that I got a chance to meet your son. He's a really brave man with a heart of gold. He cares more about the others than himself and-," Mirillia turned her gaze towards the spoken man with a tint of pink on her face. "He means a lot to me," she finished.

Mirillia blinked as she realized that she had spoken from her heart and turned ripe red. "E-excuse me!" she said flusteredly as she gave an apologetic bow to the Elthsmans before running downstairs and then outside to catch some air.

She avoided the front entrance that was filled with reporters but took the way to the courtyard. She locked the door as she walked in and then sat down on the wooden bench. Mirillia took heavy breaths and she recalled what she had just admitted._ I-i... can't believe I had just said that! How am I ever going to face him again?_ Then she exhaled. _But it is the truth.. the truth that I had been keeping all along.. he probably doesn't care anymore about me_... "I-i wish I didn't say that," Mirillia whispered sadly to herself as she began to feel worse.

"Well I don't," said a male voice.

Mirillia spun around immediately. There, on the window sill was none other than the tanned blonde. He jumped off the sill and landed onto his feet gracefully. Then he walked over to where Mirillia was and leaned forward towards the girl while putting his hands at each side of the wooden bench. "H-how long have you been there?" Mirillia stammered.

"Long enough to know how you feel. Now, did you mean what you said?" Dearka asked seriously.

Mirillia blinkws. "A-about what?" she asked nervously.

"About how I mean a lot to you," Dearka replied cooly.

Mirillia blushed as she lowered her gaze from his. There was a moment of silence. "Did or didn't you? Please answer me, Mir," Dearka pleaded.

"I-i..." Mirillia swallowed. "I-i meant every word I had said!" she yelled out with her face as ripe as a tomato.

Dearka looked surprised for a moment before he smiled and gave her a bug. "D-dearka?" Mirillia stammered in surprise at his actions.

"Thank you Mir, that meant a lot to me," Dearka replied.

Mirillia returned the hug and buried her head into Dearka's shoulder. "I should be the one to thank you. Even if it took a while, I found that I had begun to love you and I still do," she admitted. "Especially when Tolle died, I had trouble getting over it, but you helped me to overcome it and it also helped me to realize the truth,"

Dearka smiled widely as he released her. "That's good since you already know my feelings," he said as he took her hand.

Mirillia blushed slightly before tilting her head so that it laid gently on his shouler. "Yeah.." she whispered.

* * *

While back in the hospital, a midnight-haired boy remained seated while watching the others. At first he felt a pang of envy towards his friends but then shook it off as he knew that instead, he should be happy for them. But despite that, he still couldn't help but feel a gap in his heart.

His mother had died a while back while his father didn't care whether his son lived or not. Athrun shook his head to clear his mind. So what? It wasn't like he expected his father to come and see him. Father was probably in some important meeting someplace else in the world. Besides, he wouldn't even come if he was free.

Athrun sighed as he leaned back on the couch and closed his eyes. As I laughed with my parents, I suddenly felt a sharp pain go through my heart. As I turned around to figure out what was wrong, I realized that I had selfishly been happy with my family while some of us didn't have them. I looked around for Mirillia but then I noticed Dearkawas gone as well. So Dearka would most likely be with her.

Then I looked around for Athrun and saw him lying down. I felt a horrible sensation as I realized that he must be hurting. There wasn't much I could do for him and I knew that if I tried to comfort him, he would deny it. But at the least, I could get him something to drink. "Mother, Father, I'll be right back. I'm going down to the cafeteria," I said.

Ulen tilted his head. "Whatever you want, I can go get it," he offered but I shook my head. "Thanks, but it's okay. You and Mother can wait here," I said as I went for the direction of the stairs to the first floor.

As I walked, I noticed Kira was looking at me. I could tell that he was wondering when he should tell my parents about his true identity. I nodded but mouthed later. As soon as I saw that he understood, I went down the stairs quickly. I was so concertrated on how to cheer up Athrun that I didn't realize how fast I was going and ran into someone. It was like running into a stone solid wall! I cried out in surprise as I sort of bounced back and was about to fall when that same person quickly grabbed my arm. "Are you okay?" asked a deep voice/

I nodded numbly as I opened my eyes. "S-sorry.. I wasn't watching where I was going," I stammered in embarassement.

I took notice of his appearance and saw that he was middle-aged with greying hair. He had pale eyes and a pale face that told me that he didn't get much sleep. "You do realize that this is a hospital, don't you?" he asked in a serious tone.

I nodded again. "I know... I said I was sorry," I repeated.

I felt this stranger scan my face throughly. "You're a patient here, aren't you? What are you doing out of bed? You should go rest up at your young age," the man advised.

I scowled. Who was this man to order me around?! I barely even knew him for 3 whole minutes! "Jeez! This is the second time someone told me that! Not to be rude, but whatever I do doesn't really concern you! First Athrun and now-" I mumbled but the man interrupted me sharply. "Athrun.. did you say?"

I blinked. My anger was replaced with surprise. His tone of voice sounded surprised yet sad at the same time. "Y-yes sir.. It's none of my business, but.. do you know him?" I asked carefully.

The man wearily placed a hand over his eyes and sighed. In that moment, it seemed that this man in front of me had leapt forward in time and aged. He looked like he hasn't slept in a week or even more. There was a moment of silence before the stranger removed his hand and reopened his eyes. "Yes... I'm his father," he said quietly.

Had I been carrying anything, I would have most likely dropped it. "H-his father?... Patrick Zala?" I repeated, not believing that I was talking to one of the two top leaders of the supreme council and also one of the most powerful men in the country.

Patrick nodded as I suddenly realised that Athrun looked nothing like him. He must look more like his mother then. "Seeing that you know him, are you a friend of his?" Patrick asked.

I nodded. "Yes, I met him during the trip on the Archangel and we became fast friends," I answered.

_And we've became a bit more than just that._.. I thought. _But I'm not going to tell him __**that**__ just yet_.

"I see.. Athrun didn't even tell me that he was going on that trip," he murmured more to himself than to me, but nevertheless, I still heard it.

I also couldn't help but to see that Patrick was looking very pale and tired. "Would you like some coffee?" I asked, pulling out some money that my parents had just given me.

Patrick nodded tiredly. "Yes, but I can buy my own," he said as he went to the nearest vending machine and ordered some ice cappachino. **(A/N: In asian vending machines, they sell just about every type of drink there is lol.)**

I, myself ordered some soda. I turned to face Patrick. "Are... are you here to see him?" I asked quietly as we sat down on the counch in the main room on the first floor.

Patrick stopped sipping and lowered the cup. "Ah! Y-you don't have to answer that if you don't want to... it was none of my business," I said quickly in case he didn't want me intruding on his privacy.

Patrick gave me a small smile. "It's okay. I was planning to visit Athrun, but then I wasn't sure that I should because maybe he wouldn't want me to. Maybe you've even heard from him that our father-son relationship isn't that good. But if you don't mind, could you tell me a bit about him?" he asked.

I thought it over for a moment before replying. When Athrun had described his father way back on the island **(A/N: Ch.11 The Promise), **I had imagined a cold-hearted man, but Patrick here didn't seem that way to me. He looked really sad and lonely. And it also seemed to me that he regretted not spending any quality time with his only son.

I nodded. "Sure. I've only been friends with him for a month, but during that time, I've learned that he's a very kind person. Athrun cares very much about everyone and loathes fighting or any type of violence. He tries to avoid it as much as possible and only fights to protect himself of anyone else that he cares about. Athrun likes to take time to understand people, a quality that many people I know don't have. He's a good listener as well because whenever I feel upset, I know that he won't mind if I spilt my concerns on him," I said. "Truthfully, I'm really grateful to have met him,"

Patrick gave me a sad smile. "He's very much like his mother and very different from myself," he said.

"His mother?" I repeated in curiosity.

Patrick nodded and took out his wallet. As he opened it up, I saw a picture of a 5-year old Athrun, a younger Patrick Zala and a young, but beautiful mother. She was laughing, not only with her smile, but her eyes as well and I knew instantly, though I never met her, that she was a very kind person and a loving mother. Patrick was right when he told me that Athrun was exactly like his mother. Right from the head to the toe they were alike in appearance.

* * *

"When she had died, I was broken down into many pieces. I never believed that it would hurt so much. The pain of losing someone precious to you. It hurt so much that it seemed that I was unable to cry," Patrick spoke sadly. "It was my fault that Lenore was killed because we always got into many arguements, causing her to become stressed. Even though he never said anything. I'm sure Athrun blames me for it. I made a horrid mistake by avoiding Athrun and leaving him to the care of the maids because he reminded me too much of the only woman I ever loved," Patrick swallowed.

"I spend most of my time in my office and buried myself in work to keep my mind off of my broken family. I hardly ever came home since my office was like a second home for me. During that time, I didn't know how Athrun was doing at all, even if I was his father. A lot of time passed for my pain to ease just a little,"

"One day while I went home late at night, I accidentally knocked a photo off of the shelf. As I picked it up, I saw that it was a picture with the three of us; the picture that you just saw. Lenore was smiling as cheerful as ever as she hugged Athrun. She loved him very much while I had ignored him, always. It was then that I realised that he also needed me as well. Lenore would love him to the ends of the earth and now, she was gone. Even if she is gone, I felt that maybe if I could love him twice as much, it would cover the missing link that Lenore had left," Patrick explained quietly.

"However, things didn't go as I had hoped. I started to come hom earlier and earlier to spend some time with Athrun, to ask for forgiveness, but by then, it was already too late; the wound in his heart had turned to a scar. Athrun became quieter and more mature than anyone his age. He always locked himself in his room even when I wasn't around. I had also heard from the maids that every weekend, Athrun would sleep over at a friend's house, mainly Kira's. And most of the time, I was home on the weekends. I knew by then that it was no longer possible to heal that scar and then now, I had heard from Kira's parents that Athrun had gone on a boat trip without telling me, but that wasn't all,"

Patrick swallowed before continuing. "My world turned black when I had heard that the very same charter boat that Athrun was on, disappeared. Some people pitied me while most said that it wasn't a huge shock considering that I wasn't close to my own son. It hurt very much to acknowledge the truth in the words because they were right; we eren't close at all. I had always hoped that maybe, just maybe I could let him see how sorry I was for my mistakes in the past and let me love him again, but then, I saw that that hope was like a fire in the rain when it was said that all of the passenger perished along with that boat,"

"However, I wouldn't believe it. I spend every moment of my time recruiting search-and-rescue squads, but still, it wasn't enough. But then some place else, I heard that there might have been sightings of survivors and I hopped on the fastest jet to get there, but it had turned out to be something else. There had been many reports, but like the first, they were all false. I almost lost hope until there was a report on a gigantic mushroom cloud in the sky and the rescue of a few teenagers. And those teenagers who claimed to come from the very boat that I had been looking for. And so.. I got onto another jet to come here, wanting to see Athrun and maybe even speak with him," Patrick ended his tale.

By then I had entirely stopping sipping my soda. The way he told it to me was very dramatic, but it also explained why he looked so sad and tired. I knew I had to do something; for the two of them. Athrun, who believed that his father was a cold-hearted man and no longer loved him while Patrick lost hope that he could ever make Athrun see the truth behind his words. I turned to face him. "Chairman, you should talk to him, because if you don't, Athrun wouldn't know that his father cared for him all along. I'm sure he would want you to talk to him," I said.

Patrick thought it over before finally agreeing. "Alright, it couldn't possibly get any worse.. By the way, what is your name?" he asked as we began to climb the stairs back to the second floor.

I stopped. It was then that I realised that I hadn't given him my name. How rude of me! "Ah... right... It's C-cagalli," I said as my face was tinted red with embarassment.

Patrick gave me a smile, an actual read smile as we reached the second floor. As soon as we reached the top of the stairs, everyone's eyes were on us. Athrun leapt up from his position and I saw that his eyes gleamed with fury. "Father! What are you doing here!" he demanded harshly.

I was speechless at his reaction. Even from what Patrick had told me just a moment ago, I couldn't believe that I would ever see Athrun so angry again like how it was when we were captured. Patrick walked up to his son and held out his hand. "I-i was worried about your health," he said quietly.

I looked on in horror as I saw Athrun lost his coolness and slapped his father's hand away. "Don't touch me! Don't even come near me! I don't want to see your face... ever!" he yelled angrily as he ran past us and headed towards the first floor.

I realised that I had only made things worse for the two of them and that what I did made the crushing blow for the chairman. "C-chairman... I-i" I stammered in shock.

Patrick interrupted me and gave me a sad smile. "It's alright... thanks for trying, Cagalli... it was more than anyone has ever done," he said as he walked sadly and slowly to the third level, not meeting anyone's eyes.

I clenched my fists. Why did this have to go all wrong? They were father and son for crying out loud! However, I knew I had to set things right. I took off to look for Athrun with hearing faint calls of my name behind me. I jumped the last few steps and searched the whole first floor for a blueberry-head, but nothing. Damnit! Where did he go?! I ran outside and looked around. All I saw was a sea of people walking from place to place. For all I knew, Athrun could've been a long way from here already. Then my eyes got caught on a midnight haired teen as he walked across the street. "Athrun!" I yelled as I rushed out onto the street without thinking.

It was then that I realised that I was on the street. A car was headed straight for me and I shut my eyes tightly while waiting for the impact to come. But it never did and as I reopened my eyes, I saw that the car had braked. "HEY PUNK! WATCH IT!" the driver yelled furiously.

I blinked several times before comprehending that I was still intact. I said a very rapid thanks and ran across the street. Whether the driver understood me or not, I didn't care. If he was nicer, than I would have said it better, but whatever. Anyway, where was Athrun now? Oh great, he disappeared again. I ran, searching wildly for him like on a goose-chase. I passed by an outdoor restaurant and stopped for a moment. "Hey you! -Yeah you! Come over here for a sec!" I called over a teen who seemed to work at the place.

"Can I help you?" the boy asked, who was blonde and had tinted glasses.

"Yeah... have you seen a blue-haired guy with emerald orbs and was about... this tall?" I asked as I described him.

The boy thought for a moment. "Hmm... have I?" he wondered out loud while I was gritting my teeth.

Was this guy going to help me or not?! "C'mon, please! It's an emergency," I pleaded.

The boy grinned. "You shoulda told me from the start. He ordered a drink on the go and then went that way," he pointed.

"Thank you!" I breathed as I ran in the direction that was given to me.

"What a wierd girl... anyway, back to work!" the boy said as he resumed taking orders.

Along the way while searching endlessly for a _certain somebody_, I ran into a lot of things that slowed me down and when I finally went to the park to find him, I (with a miracle) found him sitting quite collectedly on a beach while looking at the lake. At the moment, I was not happy; not at all. "A-athrun," I spoke out loud, interrupting his thought.

He turned at the mention of his name and looked at me in surprise. "Cagalli? What happened to you? You're all sweaty," he said.

I gritted my teeth but decided to drop it. "Nothing... say, can I join you?" I asked as I cleared away the black storm cloud that was in my head.

Athrun shrugged as he moved over slightly. I took my seat and then looked out to the lake as well. It was a while before I could find the right words to say. "Athrun... do you really hate your father so much that you cannot bear to be in the same room as him?" I questionned quietly.

Athrun looked down between the gap in his folded hands. "Yes," he replied simply.

I saw that he had a permanent frown on his face. "Why don't you ever give him a chance? He's not what you think he is," I said as I brushed his bangs away from his eyes.

Athrun looked up and I saw that he was furious. "I told you already Cagalli! He's the reason Mother died! And did he grieve for her? NO! It even made me to believe that he wanted her to die! He left me when I needed him the most!" he shouted angrily.

I felt my face grow hot with anger as I heard all of this from him. "You don't know anything about your father! You never spent any time alone with him... none! So how are you supposed to know he wasn't grieving like you were? For all you know, which is nothing, he buried himself in work just to ease the pain!" I shouted back.

Athrun looked shocked to say something at first, but then narrowed his eyes which were filled with tears. "I hate him!" he said harshly.

I cupped his face and made him look me straight in the eyes. "You _hated_ him, because you were afraid to love him. You were afraid that you were going to be rejected from your father, the one you look up to most. Your father loved your mother very much and he still does! And she's not the only one! He loves you very much as well, Athrun..." I swallowed. "But, by the time he realised that his son was left unloved, he tried his hardest by patching it, but it was too late then! He tried to spend some time with you, but you didn't let him. Sure he made some mistakes, heck, even I make mistakes, but that doesn't mean that he had stopped loving you. So go back, talk to him and tell him that you love him very much as his son,"

Athrun looked at me painfully as a small tear fell down his face. A long moment passed before he spoke. "I-i didn't know..." he whispered softly.

I knew he was hurting very much so I hugged him tightly. "I know you didn't know, so that was why I knew I had to talk to you. But it's okay now, it's never too late to patch things with your father. Better late than never, right?" I said as I felt him wrap his arms around me as well.

He nodded. "Thanks.. Cagalli," he said as I felt a small smile come across my face.

We went back to the hospital and I prayed that it would be fine, but I shouldn't have worried. Athrun found and approached a leaving Patrick Zala. "Father..." he started out as I saw that he swallowed visibly, obviously nervous.

Patrick turned and looked at his only son through wide eyes. It had been a long time since he heard Athrun call him father. "Y-you don't have to say anything, but I want you to listen to me," Athrun spoke. "I've only just realised thanks to a little help of how selfish I have been. Before... I had seen the truth but refused to believe it. I-i was afraid... afraid that maybe you didn't want me anymore after the accident involving mother. But Cagalli made me face the truth about you... about us... and now I realised how much I missed you,"

I felt my eyes moisten slightly because I knew that he was speaking directly from his heart, which was extremely hard. I think Patrick knew it as well, since he hugged his son tightly. "You weren't the only one being selfish... I had been as well. I'm so sorry that I left you when you needed me the most, but what you just told me made me the happiest man for a long while... thank you, son," he whispered.

I saw Athrun smile happily and knew that no matter how difficult it had been for him, he was truly sastified now. But then to my horror, as soon as Patrick released his son, he fell down. "Father!" Athrun cried out in shock while I cried out, "Chairman!"

We both quickly bent down to check up on him and I also sighed in relief as soon as I heard a gentle snore. "It's okay, Athrun... he's just extremely tired. I couldn't even believe he had the strength to stand up all this time. Your dad's a strong guy," I said.

Athrun gave a smile and nodded. "I know," was his reply.

* * *

A few days later, all of us were released from the hospital and the first thing we did was to the funeral of all those who died at sea during the trip. For Heine, For Kisaka, For Tolle, For Rusty... it was hard to see someone dried-eyed. We remembered their heroics, their friendlyness and their bravery.

We also had a funeral for the not-so-good guys like Yuna and the pirates since no one deserved to die, no matter what they had done. Like I've said before, life is a precious thing and is easily taken away, so you had to treasure it.

Everyone took turns to take a small bundle of flowers to throw into sea. And as I walked up to do the same, I saw the setting sun. I remembered it was the same sight as it had been on the Archangel and on the island as well. And then I threw the bundle into the sea along with my last thoughts for the people I have met. For Heine, because he was a kind person and the best first mate I've ever seen. For Kisaka, a true captain that came along once every decade. For Tolle, who was a true friend and one for I'll miss so much. For Rusty, the one who at first had a confused mind but listened to his heart in the end. Also, he's one that I'll shall never forget...

After I had finished, Lacus began to sing softly to ease our sadness a little. Her melodic voice was soothing and we all felt the burning sensation grow a little lighter. As her voice echoed throughout the night, I felt that those who I've recently thought about could finally rest in peace as the struggle was finally over. I tilted my head so that it laid on Athrun's shoulder. He looked at me with a mutal smile. "It's finally over..." he said.

I nodded. "That was what I was just thinking about," I admitted.

Athrun grinned. "Then the two of us are the same," he whispered_  
_

* * *

_Several years later..._ "Athrun! Where are we going?!" I demanded as I felt my boyfriend grin from ear to ear.

"Someplace that you'll never forget," was all that he said.

I growled slightly under the blindfold. "Then why did you ask me to dress formally? And why do we need a chopper to get there?" I demanded making him sigh.

"Enough questions, I'll answer everything and then pose a question of my own when we get there," Athrun said.

Luckily for him, the chopper landed soon and he helped me get down. "Why does the ground feel so uneven?" I asked as I felt my foot sink.

Athrun said nothing as he pulled me along, guiding me. "Are we there yet?!" I yelled.

He chuckled. "Yeah, we're here," he said as he pulled off my blindfold.

I gasped as I saw the sight before us, a rising sun. And guess where I was? The place where I felt that I had spent my entire life on; the island. It was the exact same. It brought back a lot of memories, some good and some bad. It was the exact same place where I had spent the night with Athrun, talking about the past. "Cagalli.." I heard him call my name.

I turned to find him kneeling on one knee. "We've been through so much together so I know I'm doing the right thing when I ask you, Will you marry me?" Athrun asked as he held out a beautiful red ruby ring.

I was in surprise, but my eyes were moist as I hugged him with a small cry of delight. I had been waiting for him to ask me that since we've met. "Yes!" I replied as Athrun placed the ring on my finger and hugged me tightly.

I was the happiest girl that day and I knew that the trip had been fate to bring us together and my friends as well. As soon as we got back, we had a wedding ceremony and to my surprise, everyone had already knew about his proposal, all except for me. I was a little mad at first, but then how could you be mad at Athrun Zala? The wedding was a sucess and as I tossed the bouquet of flowers, Mirillia had caught it next and her boyfriend, Dearka hoisted her up in the air and swung her around happily. And during that day, Kira told the truth to both of our parents and with both sides agreeing, Kira stayed with his adoptive parents, but moved next door to us so that meant that he visited very often. In the end, it was a happy ending as Athrun kissed me blissfully like he had done back on the island.

Speaking of the island, an object laid abandoned on the ground. On a closer look was that it was a pocket knife, the very same that had protected me all of those times, but I no longer needed it since I had all I needed. My friends, my family and finally... Athrun...

* * *

**A/N: Omg! Done! Whooooohoo! Whaddaya think? Was it good for an ending? Anyway, let me thank everyone: readers and reviewers! Bold underlines under names are people who've reviewed quite a bit and receive my special thanks. Thanks to everyone who supported me and got me through!**

**Hades.Throne.Heiress, Kween of Roses, simply -v-, naiyobi, ewngpwngh, Justicez, Angelite Phoenix, cag-chan, asucagalover-meyrinhater, cagalliyulathha, Girl Wonder 2005, cagalli-rox, akidarchangelprincess, rebagu, SamuraiGirl7, Mademoiselle, imuzuok, smartkidz, Mage666, lernia, Chibisapphire, caga2007, haku fan1, externalx3, Ying Fa-chan, athrunxcagalli4evr, celle666 and don't forget my anonymus people! **

**Now... onto my next fan fic:**

**Title: Silent Whispers **

**Parings: AxC with minor KxL**

**Rating T (to be safe)**

**Summary: 10 years ago, I witnissed the death of my best friend at a young age. Now at 16, that very same person, now as a spirit, has continued to haunt/pester me until I can rid of my guild and find true happiness.**

** Hope to see you there! 3  
**


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